Van Gisbergen Crushes Cup Series Foes In Mexico City

MEXICO CITY – Just as he did two years ago in his NASCAR Cup Series debut, Shane van Gisbergen christened a new road course at the sport’s top level with a trip to victory lane.

Then, it was the Chicago (Ill.) Street Circuit. Sunday, it was Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, where the New Zealand native put on an absolute clinic to win the inaugural running of the Viva Mexico 250.

Van Gisbergen not only started from the pole and led 60 of the 100 laps around the 2.42-mile, 15-turn natural terrain course, he also won stage two before catching a well-timed caution in the final segment after his last pit stop to regain control for good.

From there, the 36-year-old Trackhouse Racing driver ran off to a mammoth 16.567-second victory over Christopher Bell, earning his second career triumph in purely dominant fashion.

It marked the first premier series win for van Gisbergen since his Chicago breakthrough two years ago, catapulting him from outside the top 30 in the standings into the Cup Series playoffs in the process.

And if the sheer numbers weren’t impressive enough, in addition to travel issues that delayed him getting to Mexico City on Friday, van Gisbergen’s race was akin to a ‘flu game’ – after he reported illness Sunday morning shortly before climbing behind the wheel of his No. 88 Safety Culture Chevrolet.

“I felt pretty rubbish today, leaking out both holes … that part wasn’t fun. The race was a blast, though,” said van Gisbergen after his celebratory burnout.

“Our car was amazing. I think the 54 [Ty Gibbs] was close, but that last stint, man … what a pleasure just ripping lap after lap and watching them get smaller in the mirror,” he continued. “Unreal. What a week. I’ve really enjoyed myself here.”

Van Gisbergen was so strong in the race’s second half that, at one point, crew chief Stephen Doran radioed his driver and asked him to “manage his pace.”

The response was an all-time moment, “Stop telling me to slow down!”

After the race, van Gisbergen explained why he wasn’t about to back off, even with such a huge lead.

“When I go slow, I just lose concentration, so I was trying to stay in a rhythm and a routine,” he noted. “Josh (Williams, spotter) and Stephen do such a great job keeping me calm and focused.

“Man, that really was epic.”

By the numbers, van Gisbergen’s margin of victory was the largest in the Next-Gen era (since 2022), more than doubling up Kyle Larson’s 7.088-second gap from Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway last fall.

It was also the third-largest margin of victory in the electronic timing era, dating back to May of 1993.

With all that in mind, was it the best race car van Gisbergen has ever had?

“It’s certainly up there,” admitted the three-time Australian Supercars champion, coming short of an outright affirmative. “I’ve been privileged to have some great ones in my time.”

The potential turning point came just before the second stage break, when Ty Gibbs – van Gisbergen’s leading challenger, who led thrice for 27 laps himself – short-pitted to gain track position for the final stage while van Gisbergen stayed on track.

It was a short-term gain for Gibbs, who cycled to the lead on lap 63 when van Gisbergen pitted for the final time, appearing to be in the catbird’s seat by needing less fuel for his final round of service.

A spin and stall by Carson Hocevar at the blind turn 15 changed all that thinking, however.

When Hocevar couldn’t get going, NASCAR was forced to call the sixth and final yellow flag of the race, before Gibbs had pitted but after van Gisbergen and 10 others had already made their final stops.

That allowed those 11 to cycle to the front of the grid for the 32-lap green flag run to the finish, while Gibbs was buried in traffic and could never recover. Van Gisbergen drove away as a result.

A methodical rally through the field saw Bell claw his way from 31st on the grid to runner-up honors, with his last pass of Alex Bowman coming at turn 11 with 15 to go during the final lengthy stint.

By that point, however, Bell had nothing left to challenge or even close in on van Gisbergen.

“I don’t know what I needed to stay with him. Shane was really good,” said Bell. “Ultimately, it was just a third-place day. I felt like Ty was really good, and the yellow flag bit him and we walked away with second.

“Both days … in the Xfinity car I was the third-place car, and today I felt like I was the third-place car,” he continued. “I think, more than anything, it was just me [that was off]. I need to do a little more homework and figure out where I can be better to keep up with these guys.

“The Joe Gibbs Racing Group brought an amazing Mobil 1 Camry, and I can’t really say that it was my car that was lacking. It was on me this weekend.”

Seven-time road course winner Chase Elliott was third for Hendrick Motorsports ahead of teammate Alex Bowman, with Michael McDowell finishing fifth for Spire Motorsports.

Legacy Motor Club’s John Hunter Nemechek benefited from the same fortunate caution as van Gisbergen, gaining track position that allowed him to net a career-best road course finish in Cup Series competition in sixth.

Chase Briscoe, Cole Custer, Daytona 500 winner William Byron, and Chris Buescher rounded out the top 10 at the finish.

As his No. 54 Toyota faded late, Gibbs drifted back further and ended up 11th at the checkered flag.

RFK Racing’s Ryan Preece topped stage one and appeared to be in position to challenge for a top five, but copped a pit-road penalty on lap 62 for driving through too many pit stalls on entry that took him out of the mix.

Preece ultimately came home 15th. With van Gisbergen’s win shuffling the playoff picture, he dips below the cut line by 19 points, chasing Chris Buescher for the final postseason berth after 16 races.

Byron extended his series lead to 67 points over Kyle Larson, who was involved in a multi-car crash on lap seven in early damp conditions and finished many laps down in 36th.

The race got off to a slow start, with early showers dampening the course and leading to a first-lap yellow before things truly got going and the track began to dry and gain speed.

NASCAR Cup Series teams return stateside and head next to the 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., to begin the 10-race run toward the playoff reset.

Broadcast coverage of the Great American Getaway 400 is slated for Sunday, June 22 at 2 p.m. ET, live on Prime Video, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.