Van Gisbergen's emotional win in Mexico City locks him into NASCAR playoffs

San Francisco Chronicle​

13 hours ago

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Shane Van Gisbergen once again mastered a new track — this one the iconic Mexico City road course — to win NASCAR's first Cup Series points-paying race outside the United States of the modern era.
The New Zealander led 60 of 100 laps Sunday at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez to earn his first Cup victory since he won in his NASCAR debut at the inaugural 2023 street course race in Chicago. That victory changed his career trajectory and Van Gisbergen left Australia V8 Supercars, where he was a multiple champion, for a full-time move to NASCAR.
'Man, that was epic,' he said.
Although he had success in the Xfinity Series — he won three races last year as Trackhouse Racing developed him for a Cup Series ride — Van Gisbergen has struggled this year at NASCAR's top level.
He started the race ranked 33rd in the Cup standings with only one top-10 finish through the first 15 races of the season. But his victory in Mexico City earned him an automatic berth into NASCAR's playoffs with a shot to race for the Cup Series championship.
Van Gisbergen benefitted from an early pop-up rain shower on the first lap of the race because he's an exceptionally skilled driver on a wet surface. His win at Chicago was in monsoon-like conditions.
He won the pole in Mexico City and started the race as the BetMGM betting favorite, particularly since rain was in the forecast. He had to contend with several challengers, Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing among them, but took the lead for good with 31 laps remaining.
And, he won feeling under the weather. He was ill before the start of the race in what was a bizarre weekend for him. He was one of the drivers stranded in North Carolina on Thursday when his chartered plane suffered a mechanical issue on takeoff and the team was stranded until Friday morning.
Van Gisbergen arrived in Mexico City early Friday morning but was still awaiting many crew members. Then he got sick late Saturday and was sleeping on the floor of his hauler before Sunday's race.
'I felt pretty rubbish today, leaking out both holes, that wasn't fun,' Van Gisbergen said. 'Our car was amazing. That last stint, man, what a pleasure just ripping lap after lap and watching them get smaller in the mirror. Unreal.'
He admitted after the race he'd texted with four-time Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen about the intricacies of the Mexico City circuit.
'A little bit in the wet — just what lines to take and how to approach it,' he said. 'What a guy.'
Van Gisbergen then did his traditional rugby-style celebration by drop-kicking a signed football into the grandstands.
Trackhouse now has two of its drivers — Ross Chastain and Van Gisbergen — locked into the playoffs. But it was a bit of a disappointment for Daniel Suarez, the Monterrey native who thrilled the hometown crowd with a win in the Xfinity Series race on Saturday, as he failed to challenge his teammate for the win and finished 19th.
'I wish I was in the mix fighting for it a little more, but it just wasn't in the cards,' Suarez said. "Every single thing about this weekend exceeded my expectations, the people, the fans, the sponsors, the excitement, the energy.
'I had expectations for this weekend, not the results but, like, the event, and I can tell you that I personally exceeded those expectations,' he added. 'So very, very happy for that. Very blessed. I hope that we can do it many more times.'
Suarez, who appeared to be blinking back tears as he sang along with the Mexican national anthem in pre-race ceremonies, desperately wanted the home win in this contract year with Trackhouse. He was the face of this event as NASCAR ventured outside the U.S. with its top series for the first time since 1958.
Bell finished second in a Toyota for JGR — 16.567 seconds behind the winner. He was followed by Chase Elliott in a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Alex Bowman, who hurt his back in a crash last week at Michigan, withstood the pain for a fourth-place finish in his Hendrick Chevrolet.
Michael McDowell of Spire Motorsports was fifth and followed by John Hunter Nemechek in a Toyota for Legacy Motor Club. Chase Briscoe of JGR was seventh and followed by Cole Custer for Haas Factory as the highest-finishing Ford driver. William Byron of Hendrick was ninth and Chris Buescher of RFK Racing rounded out the top 10.
Chevrolets took five of the top-10 positions, including the victory.
Stenhouse vs. Hocevar
The ongoing feud between Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Carson Hocevar continued after the race as a furious Stenhouse reached inside Hocevar's cockpit on pit road.
He seemed to grab at Hocevar as he spoke to him, then slapped at his helmet as Stenhouse walked away. It wasn't clear what Stenhouse was upset about, but he's been furious with Hocevar for three consecutive weeks, dating to contact between the two at Nashville.
Hocevar's in-car camera captured the audio of the confrontation.
'I'm going to beat your (butt),' Stenhouse threatened. 'You're a lap down, you've got nothing to do. Why you run right into me? It's the second time. I'm going to beat your (butt) when we get back to the States.'
Hocevar said after the race he couldn't really hear Stenhouse.
'I know he was very mad and I was very apologetic,' Hocevar said. 'I got in the marbles and slid a lot longer than I expected to. Number one, not somebody I would ever want to hit again. But number two, I was basically just logging laps. I tried to turn left and avoid him. Just a really sloppy day for me.'
Bad day for Busch
Kyle Busch, who started the race at the bottom of the playoff standings, suffered a massive setback when he crashed out of the race on the sixth lap and finished last in the 37-car field.
Busch, who was ranked 15th in the Cup Series standings when he arrived in Mexico City, blamed the incident on the wet track.
'Just in the rain, and I went down into (Turn) 11 and got on the brakes pretty hard, and everything was fine, everything was comfortable, stopped really good,' he said. 'And I'm like 'OK I can be a little more aggressive getting into 1,' and I figured it was going to be fine, and as soon as I went to the brakes, it was like being on ice, and I was just sliding.'
NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon was selected to give the command for drivers to start their engines and admitted before the race he'd done some practicing.
Why? Because he incorporated both English and Spanish in his delivery of the most famous words in racing.
'Hola Mexico!' Gordon shouted. "Pilotos start your engines!