Sunday’s Viva Mexico 250 in Mexico City means a few road-course standouts should be antsy to make the long trip south and claim a playoff berth.
NASCAR makes history Sunday when it holds the first points-paying international Cup Series race in the modern era at the tricky Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, featuring 15 turns that drivers will battle over 100 laps (242.9 miles) at 7,350 feet.
It will be the first international points event since 1958 when Lee Petty won in Toronto driving an Oldsmobile in a 19-car field that featured son Richard in his racing debut.
One hotshot looking forward to a few right turns to go along with the lefts is Chase Elliott, the active leader in wins at the Cup Series’ snaking layouts from New York to California to Mexico and points in between.
Owner of seven road wins, third to all-time leader Jeff Gordon (nine) and Tony Stewart (eight), Elliott has had no luck on them since 2022.
His only two victories in 2021 and the last on the winding courses were at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Tex., and the lengthy Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisc., which only made two appearances on the Cup schedule (2021, 2022) before being replaced.
The seven-time NASCAR Most Popular Driver award winner is having an incredibly consistent but completely unremarkable regular season in his 10th full campaign after running five races in 2015.
Through 15 races so far, the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports pilot is winless — he has had just one victory (Texas, 2024) since grabbing the checkers at Talladega on Oct. 2, 2022 — but he is the only driver to finish every race in the top 20, placing him fifth in points (minus-112 to leader William Byron) with an 11.7 average finish.
However, Elliott had made a habit of winning in the Cup Series — 19 total times, including five each in his championship season of 2020 and also in 2022.
But drivers generally have to lead to win — though Denny Hamlin, who will miss the Mexico race for his child’s birth, only led five laps Sunday on the way to career victory No. 57 at Michigan.
Elliott, 29, has paced the way on just 95 laps, while Byron, Kyle Larson and Hamlin — 1-2-3 in points — have combined for a whopping 2,074 circuits led.
Usually for Elliott, it has been a different story, one of flashy, checkered success, not just a good points day with no chance of glory, when it comes to racing on the slithering asphalt.
In 36 career road events, Elliott has nabbed seven wins, three poles and 20 top fives. He has led 489 laps with an average finish of 9.0.
The Dawsonville, Ga., driver is optimistic — despite fans’ criticism of crew chief Alan Gustafson and the team.
“We care a lot about each other,” Elliott said. “I think it’s important that we’ve stuck together through this, and I think there is light at the end of the tunnel somewhere. I also think we’re going to be way better for it once we do get on the other side because we’ve had to learn some hard lessons.”
Currently saddled with an 0-for-43 winless streak in points races, could the top racer on road courses desperately use a win Sunday and tie Stewart for second in wins?
Let’s just say he would have no problem bringing a trophy through customs when he returns.
In Saturday’s qualifying, road racing specialist Shane van Gisbergen got around the course in 1:23.776 seconds (93.904 mph) to secure the Busch Light pole for Sunday’s top spot in the rain-shortened qualifying session.
The full-time Trackhouse Racing became the third Cup driver to win his first two career poles with hot laps on a road course, joining Dan Gurney and Tyler Reddick.
Ryan Preece, Ross Chastain, Ty Gibbs and Michael McDowell completed the top-five qualifiers.
–Field Level Media
