Top 10 In Mexico Helps Green Continue His Recent Surge

Austin Green in action at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. (Nigel Kinrade/NKP photo)

MEXICO CITY – It’s fair to say that Austin Green has hit the ground running since his first ARCA Menards Series win at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway in May, and he was able to extend that momentum to the NASCAR Xfinity Series return to Mexico City.

Green rose late in Saturday’s Chilango 150 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez, claiming a seventh-place finish for Jordan Anderson Racing after 65 laps of all-out chaos around the 2.42-mile, 15-turn circuit.

The Concord, N.C., native showed speed throughout the weekend, rolling off the hauler 11th in practice, before turning in the 14th quickest lap during qualifying to set himself up in the top half of the field for the start of the race.

It was exactly what Green needed to kickstart his long but rewarding day, but that didn’t make the end result easy.

Green was shuffled back in the field after an unscheduled pit stop, relegating the Trans-Am TA2 Series standout to a 38th-place ranking at the conclusion of stage one.

From there, he had to manage fading brakes for the rest of the event, but nonetheless made it through stage two with a chance going into the final 25-lap run to the checkered flag.

On that stage-three restart, the 24-year-old driver experienced another close call with his No. 32 3Dimensional Chevrolet Camaro. Going into the first set of corners, the field unraveled into a frantic frenzy, with leaders Connor Zilisch and Ty Gibbs getting together and igniting a multi-car melee.

Green successfully navigated around a spinning Zilisch in the nick of time, before fellow Trans-Am competitor Thomas Annunziata slammed into the No. 88 Chevrolet, setting up yet another nail-biting restart.

Green got back inside the top 20 within the final 15 laps and hung tough once he did, benefiting from a late-race caution where Jesse Love spun entering the final corner, setting up a final dash to the end.

The road course specialist gathered his bearings, restarting in 11th with four laps to go, eventually gaining four more spots in the process to a season-best seventh place finish.

Not only was the finish a strong one for Green, but he was complimentary of the entire weekend.

“Yeah, it was definitely a cool event,” Green told Race Face Digital of his maiden visit to Mexico City. “I've never been out of the country, so that was a first for me. It was good to get back on a road course as well. I think practice and qualifying went pretty smoothly, and then we developed a bit of a brake issue early on, so we figured we’d pit and get it over with in the beginning and then work our way up.

“Thankfully, after that, we just stayed out of all the chaos and were there at the end to take advantage.”

Austin Green (John Harrelson/Nigel Kinrade Photgraphy)

His strong runs since coming into the Xfinity Series have allowed Green to shine a light on the Trans-Am TA2 Series, which features production race cars designed for sprint racing and has been a big part of his success when it comes to turning both right and left in NASCAR’s second-highest division.

Green feels the similarities between the two cars have allowed him to flourish on both sides.

“I think it’s a great tool,” he said of the TA2 class. “There are a couple differences, but at the end of the day, it’s still a heavy stock car on a road course. So I’ve had some good experience there. Going to tracks like Watkins Glen (Int’l in New York), Sonoma (Raceway in California), and Circuit of the Americas (in Texas) … with the 20 or 25 minutes of practice you get in NASCAR and rules where you can’t really go test … laps are everything.

“I remember jumping in the thing, and knowing I’ve already been there before and I’ve seen the track … it’s like I know where to go, but I’ve never been in the car, so then the biggest thing last year was just going to these new tracks with the new car and having limited practice and no testing to figure that part out.”

Green’s impressive showing for the first Xfinity Series race at Mexico City in more than 6,000 days marked his fourth Xfinity Series top 10, all of which have come on road courses.

His career-best run came at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway in June of last year, where he narrowly finished off the podium with a fourth-place finish.

Saturday in Mexico City was a whole team effort for JAR, as team veteran Jeb Burton – who Green passed in the closing laps – finished eighth for his first top 10 on a road course since 2023.

Blaine Perkins rounded out the JAR contingent in 27th, but Green recognizes his role in continuing to help the team develop its road course program.

“I’m proud of Jeb (Burton),” Green noted. “I know road courses really aren’t his strong suit. So for him to run up there in the top 10, top 15 all day and finish eighth behind me … I thought that was a good day for him and for the team.

“I know they’re making good strides on their road course stuff, and hopefully we can keep building on that. The goal is, of course, to get more top 10s and maybe even a top five or a win before too long.”

Green will step up to the plate again in a few weeks in the No. 32 Chevrolet when the Xfinity Series takes the trip to downtown Chicago, Ill., for the third running of the Loop 110 on the Chicago Street Course.

Coverage of the event airs Saturday, July 5 on The CW, with radio coverage provided by the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.