It was a historic weekend for the NASCAR Cup Series. For the first time in half a century, the series competed in a race outside of the United States. After a historic win for Daniel Suárez in Saturday night’s Xfinity Series race, the excitement was at an all-time high for Sunday’s big race.
The weekend’s festivities began on Friday with two practice sessions. The first session was led by Michael McDowell who posted a best time of 94.02 over 19 laps. In session two, it was Todd Gilliland (or Guilliland if you’re the person who put his name on the garage) at the top with a 93.50 after just six laps.
It was a surprising qualifying session on Saturday aside from the man who took the top spot. Road course expert Shane Van Gisbergen would start the race from the front with the 60 of Ryan Preece beside him. The top-five was rounded out by Coca-Cola 600 winner Ross Chastain, 54 of Ty Gibbs, and 71 of practice leader Michael McDowell.
As the green flag flew, the field made it less than a lap before the caution came out for rain. Some teams decided to switch to wet weather tires, and Chris Buescher and Austin Cindric led the field to another green flag. By lap six, Ty Gibbs had a comfortable lead and it was still growing. Two laps later, the first caution for incident came out as Kyle Busch, Justin Haley, AJ Allmendinger, Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, and Zane Smith all stopped in the pits for repairs.
The race restarted on lap 10 and Van Gisbergen quickly took the lead back. On lap 18, he headed to the pits to switch back to dry tires which led to Ryan Preece taking the top spot. Preece earned the stage victory on lap 20 with Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, Michael McDowell, and Todd Gilliland rounding out the top-five. Chase Briscoe earned the free pass, but was given a one-lap penalty for fueling twice.
During this caution, most drivers came to the pits to switch to dry tires. McDowell and Carson Hocevar led the field at this point with local favorite Suárez taking the lead shortly after. Starting on lap 27, the drivers who did not pit at the caution began to come in and switch their tires. On lap 32, Ryan Truex – subbing in for Denny Hamlin who was absent due to the birth of his child – took a spin and brought out the yellow. Once again, Chase Briscoe received the free pass.
Drivers began making pit stops on lap 41, and the rest of the stage remained uneventful. Van Gisbergen took the stage victory with Christopher Bell, Alex Bowman, Ryan Blaney, and Michael McDowell behind him. Many more drivers decided to pit here while Van Gisbergen and Bell led the restart.
After many uneventful laps, aside from many drivers taking a spin, second-place Christopher Bell decided to pit. On lap 63, the leader decided to finally make his pit stop, giving the lead to Ty Gibbs. Two laps later, the caution came out and Zane Smith earned the free pass. The rest of the lead lap cars pitted here, allowing Van Gisbergen to regain the lead. He reported fears of a loose wheel, but his team assured him that all lugs were secure.
The remainder of the final stage stayed caution-free, regardless of multiple hits and spins. On lap 75, Van Gisbergen stretched his lead to two seconds. By lap 86, Christopher Bell had earned the second-place spot. Chase Elliott cemented his spot in third by lap 91. By lap 94, Van Gisbergen had a commanding 11-second lead and the race was all but decided. After 100 laps at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Shane Van Gisbergen earned a dominant victory, leading 55 laps and finishing 16.567 seconds ahead of second-place Christopher Bell.
This victory, alongside his first win at the Chicago Street Course in 2023, made Van Gisbergen the first driver since 1960 to earn his first two wins at inaugural races (NASCAR.com). Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott joined him on the podium while Alex Bowman and Michael McDowell rounded out the top-five. There were no issues in post-race inspection, so the results are official.
The Cup Series returns to action next Sunday, June 22nd at Pocono Raceway.
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