- Race: Viva Mexico 250
- Date: Sunday June 15, 2025
- Track: Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
- Time: 3pm ET
- Channel: Prime
What Did We Learn From Last Weekend?
As predicted, Denny Hamlin took the checkered flag last weekend at Michigan International Speedway after banking on gas mileage to get him where he needed to be. He actually ran out of fuel shortly after the race ended and needed be towed to victory lane. Sometimes it’s that experience in saving fuel or managing tires that makes all the difference in the grand scheme of things. Hamlin finished just over 1 second ahead of Chris Buescher and ended up beating the most dominant driver of the day with his winning fuel mileage strategy.
For Byron, this was obviously a disappointment after leading a race high 98 laps. He just wasn’t able to manage fuel quite enough with Hamlin battling him for the lead and ended up pitting with one lap to go. The other dominant driver of the day, Carson Hocevar, was informed that he wouldn’t be able to make it to the end on fuel either but he didn’t have that chance as he had to pit with 19 to go due to a flat tire. Ty Gibbs came home third behind Hamlin and Buescher with Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson rounding out the top 5 spots. Ross Chastain, Zane Smith, Kyle Busch, Ryan Preece, and Brad Keselowski rounded out your top 10 spots.
This weekend, the drivers and teams are headed for a series first down in Mexico. The inaugural Viva Mexico 250 will be held at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City. This road course race is the first for the Cup Series at this track, boasting 15 turns across a 2.429 mile asphalt circuit. With three stages, the final stage being the longest at 100 laps, the drivers will have an opportunity to see how to mitigate tires, fuel, and track position to get them to victory lane on Sunday.
Odds and Value Picks
Picking a winner might be unconventional being that this is the first race at this particular track, but we have other road courses to go off of including COTA, Watkins Glen, Sonoma, and others. Road courses lend themselves to the experience of veterans and drivers well-versed in this type of racing like SVG, so we’ll have to see how it plays out on Sunday for the inaugural race.
- Winner: Chase Elliott (+1000)
- Elliott is currently sitting pretty at +1000 along with Allmendinger and Larson. Elliott’s advantage comes with his experience including 7 wins over 34 total career starts on road courses with only 1 DNF. He has the best average finish among current active drivers at 8.8 and has led a total of 489 laps to date. Elliott is going to be tough to beat on Sunday.
- Mid-Range Pick: Chris Buescher (+1600)
- Although Buescher doesn’t seem to get his name out there much, this guy is here to play! He came in second at Michigan last weekend and is running consistently strong this season. Buescher has the 4th best average finish and a win over 36 total road course starts. He’s led 61 laps and has no DNFs. He’s strong on these tracks and will be one to watch if he can avoid contact.
- Dark Horse: Shane van Gisbergen (+250)
- He’s clearly the favorite. That’s very obvious. Road courses are where SVG thrives and he’s just a superstar across the board with this style of racing. In 5 career starts with NASCAR, he’s got the 2nd best average finish, 0 DNFs, and 46 laps led. He’ll be a threat to the others on Sunday for sure.
Top 16 After Last Week’s Race
- 1. William Byron
- 2. Kyle Larson
- 3. Denny Hamlin
- 4. Christopher Bell
- 5. Chase Elliott
- 6. Tyler Reddick
- 7. Ryan Blaney
- 8. Ross Chastain
- 9. Joey Logano
- 10. Bubba Wallace
- 11. Chase Briscoe
- 12. Chris Buescher
- 13. Alex Bowman
- 14. Ryan Preece
- 15. Kyle Busch
- 16. Austin Cindric
Cindric was the biggest loser after Michigan, falling 3 spots and barely hanging on to the top 16. Josh Berry is eyeing that bubble spot, climbing 3 spots himself after last weekend’s race. Our top 2 drivers did not change, with Hamlin and Bell switching spots but not much movement across the top drivers otherwise. Stay tuned for this weekend’s inaugural race in Mexico City! It’s sure to be a treat for all of our dads out there!
