On Sunday, NASCAR will be going international for the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez Viva Mexico 250. Mexico City is a flat 2.4-mile road course that has NASCAR’s second longest speedway, only eclipsed by Talladega. Rain is in the area this weekend and there’s also high-elevation question marks, so buckle up since this will be a wild weekend.

On Friday, NASCAR held two combined practice sessions. Make sure you check out our Mexico Practice Notes (Practice #1 Notes, Happy Hour Notes). Also, check out our Mexico 5,10 and 15-Lap Average Speed Cheat Sheets (Practice #1 Cheat Sheet and Happy Hour Cheat Sheet).

Here’s the Mexico Starting Lineup/ Qualifying Results.

Mexico Full Field Fantasy Rankings

1) Shane van Gisbergen 
Start 1st / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – High
Mexico Outlook – Shane van Gisbergen is a super-elite road course racer and on Sunday in Mexico City, look for this road course ace to be a heavy favorite from the pole. SVG already has one big debuting road course win on his resume and I think he has a great chance to add to his tally. In practice, SVG said his car is just OK but he still had the best 5-lap average in practice #1. Rain might be a factor on Sunday, but don’t look for that to slow SVG down.
Proven Road Course Racing Prowess – SVG has been a beast at road courses. He was fast out of the gate winning at Chicago in 2023 and overall on the Cup level minus Chicago 2024 (Crash) and COTA 2024 (Transmission issues), SVG has a 5.2 average finish. This spring at COTA, SVG finished 6th, had the 2nd best Total Speed Ranking, had a 3.9 average running position and led 23 laps. Since 2024 at road courses, SVG has the best Track Type Total Speed Ranking.
DraftKings $10,500/ FanDuel $14,000

Further Recommended Reading = Mexico Finish Projections, DraftKings Mexico Scoring Projections, FanDuel Mexico Scoring Projections, Mexico Quick Rankings!, Road Course Total Speed Rankings Since 2024

2) Ross Chastain
Start 3rd / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Mexico Outlook – 2022 COTA winner, Ross Chastain shouldn’t be counted out at Mexico City. Chastain’s a strong road course racer and I have no doubt he’ll be racing hard and going out for this inaugural win. There is a threat of rain this weekend, and I think that’s a plus for him. Back in the COTA tsunami, he was one of the standout performers, and wasn’t afraid to race hard (finished 4th). In Happy Hour, Chastain ranked 2nd for both 5 and 10-lap averages.
Proven Road Course Racing Prowess – Since 2024 at road courses, Ross Chastain has the 5th best Track Type Total Speed Ranking and minus Chicago and the Charlotte Roval, Chastain has a 7.0 average finish. Two races that I’ll highlight over that stretch are his 4th at Watkins Glen (2nd best Total Speed Ranking, led 51 laps) and 5th at Sonoma. At COTA this spring, Chastain had the 11th best Total Speed Ranking and finished 12th.
DraftKings $9,000/ FanDuel $8,500

3) Chase Elliott
Start 12th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium
Mexico Outlook – 7-time road course winner, Chase Elliott should be high on your radar at Mexico City and on Sunday, look for Elliott to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win. Elliott’s yet to win in the Next Gen at road courses but he’s flirted with victory lane on several occasions and been robbed of a win or two. Rain is a real threat this weekend and don’t forget at COTA in 2021 in the tsunami, Elliott raced his way to victory lane. In practice, Elliott had good speed in both sessions, ranking 6th (practice #1) and 8th (Happy Hour) in terms of 5-lap averages.
Proven Road Course Racing Prowess – In the Next Gen at road courses since 2022, Chase Elliott has the 2nd best average finish (10.2) and the 3rd best Driver Rating. Since 2024 on this track type, Elliott has the 6th best Track Type Total Speed Ranking, the 9th best Driver Rating and an 11.5 average finish. I’ll also note over that stretch, Elliott’s top 5 finish rate is 50%. This spring at COTA, Elliott was spun in turn #1 which put him behind all afternoon but he closed strong and finished 4th overall.
DraftKings $9,500/ FanDuel $11,500