Loop Data Box Score : Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez

• Friday, June 13th, 2025
• NASCAR Wire Service - Holly Cain

NASCAR Xfinity Series Returns to Mexico City with Rising Stars and Road Course Ringers

The NASCAR Xfinity Series marks its return to Mexico with Saturday afternoon’s The Chilango 150. The series has held four previous races at the famed Autodrome Hermanos Rodriquez – the last in 2008 won by Kyle Busch.

This is the second of seven road course races on the schedule. Series rookie, JR Motorsports’ Connor Zilisch won at Circuit of The Americas from pole position.

Reigning series champion, JR Motorsports Justin Allgaier earned his third win of the season in the series’ most recent race, two weeks ago at Nashville. It marks the fifth time in the last eight years, the veteran has scored at least three victories in a season. He holds a 92-point advantage in the championship standings over fellow three-race winner, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill.

The Illinois native has answered his first career title run with another top-shelf season in the No. 7 JRM Chevrolet. He leads all drivers in laps led (638) and top-10 finishes (10). He’s only eight top-10 finishes from 300 in his career – a feat never before accomplished in the series.

With 12 regular season races remaining and six Playoff spots still to be claimed, Mexico City certainly presents all the makings of an ultra-competitive weekend.

Sam Mayer and Ty Gibbs have the most road course wins (four) in this weekend’s field. Interestingly, nine of the series’ last 11 road course races have been won by just three drivers (Mayer, Shane Van Gisbergen and Zilisch). And Mayer, who is ranked third in the standings, is still looking for his first win of the year.

Gibbs (No. 19 Toyota) is among three NASCAR Cup Series regulars – also Suarez (No. 9 Chevy) and Christopher Bell (No. 24 Toyota) – racing Saturday. NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series rookie, Andres Perez De Lara will be making his Xfinity Series debut.

Kennametal Pole Qualifying is slated for 10:30 a.m. ET on Saturday (CW App) and historically has proven very significant on road courses with the polesitter winning 10 of the last 18 road course races.

• Aut?dromo Hermanos Rodr?guez
• The Chilango 150
• Pole Winner: Connor Zilisch
• Age: 18
• Team : No 88 - WeatherTech Chevrolet
• Owner: Dale Earnhardt, Jr
• Crew Chief: Mardy Lindley
• Connor Zilisch won the Pole Award for the The Chilango 150 with a lap of 92372 seconds, 94314 mph
• This is his fifth pole in 18 NASCAR Xfinity Series races
• This is his fourth pole and 11th top-10 start in 2025
• This is his first pole in one races at Aut?dromo Hermanos Rodr?guez
• Ty Gibbs (second) posted his first top-10 start of 2025 and his first in one race at Aut?dromo Hermanos Rodr?guez
• Christopher Bell (third) posted his first top-10 start at Aut?dromo Hermanos Rodr?guez It is his second in two races this season
• Connor Zilisch (first) was the fastest qualifying rookie

• Sunday, June 15th, 2025
• NASCAR Wire Service - Holly Cain

“¡Viva México!”: Daniel Suárez Delivers Unforgettable Xfinity Victory in Mexico City

In all his high hopes and hard work over the last year to promote NASCAR’s return to his home country of Mexico, even Daniel Suarez could not have imagined the amazing story of his dramatic win in Saturday’s The Chilango 150 – coming from last place on the grid in a back-up car and charging to Victory Lane.

After victory spinouts, the 33-year old from Monterrey, Mexico native climbed out of his No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, stood on the car’s roof, pounded his chest and pointed upward to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez grandstands – shouting to the thrilled crowd in his native Spanish and thanking his loyal fans for their support.

“It’s everything I was looking for, just a special day,” said an emotional Suarez, the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion, who led a race best 19 of the race’s 65 laps and beat Taylor Gray to the checkered flag by .598-second in a back-up car the team re-built after he crashed in the morning qualifying session.

“It’s a very special day, very, very special to be here in front of my people, all these people that have supported me for many, many years and known me since my NASCAR Mexico days, now I’m fighting with the big boys,’’ said Suarez, who was forced to use the “international provisional” starting position after his incident in qualifying.

And even after diligently working his way through the entire 37-car field, Suarez had to “earn” this win – by every definition. The NASCAR Cup Series full-timer went door-to-door with Gray on a restart with three laps remaining ultimately pulling away – only to have to fend off a fast-approaching Gray again on the final stretch of the very last lap.

Suarez first took the lead Saturday in similarly dramatic fashion, prevailing on a three-wide re-start with 19 laps remaining.

He emerged out front after going door-to-door-to-door with the race’s early leaders, rookie Connor Zilisch and fellow NASCAR Cup Series regular Ty Gibbs. The polesitter Zilisch, who led 17 laps, wheel-hopped taking the opening corner under those crowded circumstances on the re-start, spun and then hit his JR Motorsports teammate Carson Kvapil as the pile-up behind began.

Gibbs, a NASCAR Cup Series regular who led 18 laps, moved forward from the initial contact and then also made contact with Kvapil’s Chevy on the next turn. The ensuing pile-up affected 13 cars in varying degrees.

Suarez drove through the melee and you could hear the crowd’s massive cheers over the sounds of the roaring stock cars – the Mexican fans stood on their feet, arms raised, Mexican flags in the air.

Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill finished third, Kaulig Racing’s Christian Eckes was fourth and Zilisch recovered to finish fifth in another of the day’s more remarkable drives.

After that incident with 17 laps remaining, Zilisch fell back to 28th place with damage to the right side of his Chevy, only to move through the field at an amazing pace – up 14 positions in the three laps after the restart. He was 10th place with 10 laps to go and then earned that top-five finishing position.

“I’m proud of my team for their effort,’’ said Zilisch, who leaned against his car alone on pit road, obviously disappointed with the outcome after such a strong afternoon.

“Obviously the finish isn’t what we wanted. We probably had a better car than fifth place, but we got caught up in an incident on that last restart. Just proud to be able to come here and get a decent finish.

“Congrats to Daniel [Suarez], it’s awesome to see him win here in his hometown. That’s super big for him. Really proud of JR Motorsports and we’ll get it next week.

As for the incident, Zilisch conceded, “Still don’t know what I really could have done to get the to the front quicker, probably could have been a little cleaner on that last restart and gotten by guys quicker … really proud to finish top-five after day like that.’’

William Sawalich, Austin Green, Jeb Burton and his cousin Harrison Burton and Sammy Smith rounded out the top-10.

There seven lead changes among six drivers with Kvapil winning the first stage and Smith winning stage two.

NASCAR Xfinity Series championship leader Justin Allgaier had to take his No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet behind the wall for repairs before the end of the first stage, ultimately settling for a 34th place finish – 15 laps down to the winner. Fortunately for the reigning series champion, he held a 92-point advantage over Hill atop the points standings heading into Mexico City. He now leads the championship by 54 points.

• Drivers Entered: 39 (1 drivers will not make the race)
• Laps Scheduled: 65
• Margin of Victory: 0.598 Seconds
• Time of Race: 2 Hours 16 Minutes 14 Seconds
• Average Speed: 69.278
• Cautions: 5 for 17 laps
• Lead Changes: 7
• Green Flag Passes: 4,734 (98.6 passes per green flag lap)

• Autodromo Hermanos Rodr?guez
• The Chilango 150
• Race Winner: Daniel Suarez
• Age: 33
• Team : No 9 - Quaker State Chevrolet
• Owner: Rick Hendrick
• Crew Chief: Cory Shea
• Daniel Suarez won the The Chilango 150, his fourth victory in 89 Xfinity Series races
• This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in 2025
• This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in one race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodr?guez
• Taylor Gray (second) posted his first top-10 finish in one race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodr?guez It is his sixth top-10 finish in 2025
• Austin Hill (third) posted his first top-10 finish in one races at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
• Taylor Gray (second) was the highest finishing rookie
• Justin Allgaier leads the point standings by 54 points over Austin Hill