What Happened?
Shane van Gisbergen stomped the field to win his second career NASCAR Cup Series race and first in 2025 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Sunday (June 15). Finishing over 16 seconds behind him in second was Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott, who both shared the podium with the Kiwi. Rounding out the top five were Alex Bowman and Michael McDowell.
What Really Happened?
It’s taken 67 years for NASCAR to finally bring a Cup Series points race international again, and despite some travel mishaps and a couple drivers feeling unwell, it appears to have been a big success.
But if you think this is where it ends, you haven’t been paying attention.
They’ve just unlocked a literal world of possibilities.
We’ve heard about NASCAR wanting to take the Cup Series international for nearly a decade now, perhaps even longer. However, before 2025, it was all simply speculation.
How difficult would it be to take the Cup Series across borders? Sure, NASCAR did it in 1958. But that was Canada, and it was during a time when NASCAR would have multiple races a week, meaning not every driver had to travel to every race if they wanted a chance at the championship or to keep their sponsors happy.
It did it in the late 90’s when most of the field traveled to Japan, too. Yet not only was it an exhibition event, but it was once again a race not every team needed to travel to.
So, when Mexico was announced for the 2025 calendar, many in the racing industry knew exactly what it was more than anything else: a test for what was possible.
Now, with Mexico seemingly passing the test, it begs the question on what’s next?
With talks surrounding Canada and the popular Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, it seems to be the most logical next step, whether it be for an additional international race or a replacement for Mexico.
But what happens beyond that? A return to Japan? Europe? The Middle East? At this point, it all appears to be on the table, as NASCAR leaders have expressed time and again their interest in racing internationally to expand its market.
And in a day and age when NASCAR is competing with an already globally recognized racing series such as Formula 1, perhaps it’s best to take a page out of their books every now and then.
Who Stood Out?
When you think of the best road course ringers in NASCAR history, there are a few that will come to mind immediately.
However, while it’s only been three years since he first arrived in the scene, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to argue against van Gisbergen to be the best out of all of them.
Call it recency bias. Call it hype. It really doesn’t matter, because after leading a race-high 60 of the 100 total laps and winning with a margin of victory of over 16 seconds after winning the pole and all while feeling sick, there is undoubtedly no better road course driver in NASCAR than van Gisbergen right now.
Up to this point in 2025, the No. 88 crew has largely gone under the radar among the Cup field, with its only claim to fame being its lone top-10 finish coming at Circuit of the Americas way back in March. Other than that, they’ve had only four finishes within the top 20 out of 15 races.
However, everybody knew the New Zealander was never hired for his oval racing prowess. It was for road course races like Sunday, and that’s all Trackhouse Racing needed to have a guaranteed second entry into the playoffs.
However, van Gisbergen was certainly the odd-on favorite entering the Mexico weekend, but he was nowhere near the fan favorite.
Especially not for the locals. They preferred his teammate.
This event almost seemed to have been tailor made for Mexican NASCAR racer Daniel Suarez. In fact, if he wasn’t in the Cup Series field, there’s a good chance that NASCAR executives may have passed on the trip to the South of the border.
But there is no doubt his presence alone amplified the fanfare surrounding the race. It multiplied it when he won Saturday’s (June 14) NASCAR Xfinity Series race, too.
Sunday probably wouldn’t have been as successful without him, even if he only finished 19th.
But the fans certainly knew he was there, and they let him know.
Who Fell Flat?
Despite the speed behind the No. 88 Chevrolet, there was still one other driver that appeared to have the ability to challenge him.
Out of the 103 races he’s entered, this one seemed like the closest Ty Gibbs has ever been to finally earning his first career Cup victory.
After he qualified fourth, Gibbs almost immediately took the fight to polesitter van Gisbergen and even took the lead from him following a restart after the race’s first caution on lap 5.
What happened afterward was almost a complete continuation of his performance from Saturday’s Xfinity Series race. Only 24 hours prior, Gibbs dueled with another Trackhouse Racing prospect and No. 88 driver Connor Zilisch, which he mirrored when he swapped the lead multiple times with the Australian V8 Supercars Champion and led 27 total laps on the Mexican course — the second most of anyone Sunday afternoon.
Also similar to Saturday, it all went awry in the final stage.
In the final 50 laps, the No. 54 actually had the upper hand over van Gisbergen as the former had pitted before the stage two break and had the fresh tire advantage entering the final segment of the race.
Yet a caution that involved Carson Hocevar in a single-car spin with 35 laps to go erased any strategic advantage Gibbs had. Most of the field, including van Gisbergen, had already pitted before the yellow and stayed out while Gibbs and many others hadn’t.
With the same level of worn tires and the loss of track position, the No. 54 was mired around the edge of the top 10 where he stayed until the end. His first win eluded him yet again.
Paint Scheme of the Race
SVG won the grand prize while Suarez won the hearts of the home crowd, but their Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain won best dressed.
It’s not entirely fair, as we’ve seen the Wendy’s Frosty design already this year when Suarez donned it at Talladega Superspeedway, which won it Paint Scheme of the Race then, too.
However, that’s more of a testament to how vibrant, appealing and special it is. Wendy’s has invested plenty of time and resources into its NASCAR marketing campaigns including, but not limited to, building a temporary location within the infields of certain racetracks during race weekends. Drive-thrus included.
So, it deserves a nod when putting in the effort when not many other sponsorships do nowadays, especially when their designs are just this darn good.
What’s Next?
NASCAR returns to the Tricky Triangle in the Pennsylvania mountains of the Poconos.
The Cup Series will travel a large distance from central Mexico all the way to the Northeast United States to Pocono Raceway for its annual trip to the 2.5-mile circuit.
The event will be Amazon Prime Video’s last race broadcast of 2025, which will begin coverage at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 22.
Dalton Hopkins began writing for Frontstretch in April 2021. Currently, he is the lead writer for the weekly Thinkin' Out Loud column, co-host of the Frontstretch Happy Hour podcast, and one of our lead reporters. Beforehand, he wrote for IMSA shortly after graduating from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2019. Simultaneously, he also serves as a Captain in the US Army.
Follow Dalton on Twitter @PitLaneCPT