Following Denny Hamlin's third win of the season at Michigan International Speedway, the NASCAR Cup Series heads south of the border to Mexico City's Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Sunday for the running of the Viva Mexico 250.
This will be the 16th race of the season and the first international points-paying race for the Cup Series since 1958. With Hamlin not competing following the birth of his third child earlier this week, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski are the only drivers in the field with prior NASCAR experience in Mexico City when they competed during the Xfinity Series' most recent stint from 2005-08.
The race will be the second of three seeding races to set the bracket for the inaugural In-Season Challenge, which is set to begin at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway) on June 28.
So, let's dive right into the Viva Mexico 250 with the starting lineup as well as all the info about the TV broadcast, start time and more that fans need to know ahead of the green flag.
Viva Mexico 250 starting lineup: Full NASCAR qualifying results
Here's a look at the NASCAR Cup Series qualifying results at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez and the starting lineup as a result:
Viva Mexico 250 Starting Position | NASCAR Cup Series Driver |
|---|---|
1st | Shane van Gisbergen |
2nd | Ryan Preece |
3rd | Ross Chastain |
4th | Ty Gibbs |
5th | Michael McDowell |
6th | Kyle Larson |
7th | Todd Gilliland |
8th | AJ Allmendinger |
9th | Joey Logano |
10th | Daniel Suarez |
11th | Kyle Busch |
12th | Chase Elliott |
13th | Josh Berry |
14th | Erik Jones |
15th | Riley Herbst |
16th | Chris Buescher |
17th | Justin Haley |
18th | Ryan Blaney |
19th | Chase Briscoe |
20th | Austin Cindric |
21st | Austin Dillon |
22nd | Tyler Reddick |
23rd | Carson Hocevar |
24th | Zane Smith |
25th | Bubba Wallace |
26th | Cole Custer |
27th | William Byron |
28th | Ty Dillon |
29th | Alex Bowman |
30th | Brad Keselowski |
31st | Christopher Bell |
32nd | John Hunter Nemechek |
33rd | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
34th | Cody Ware |
35th | Noah Gragson |
36th | Ryan Truex |
37th | Katherine Legge |
Trackhouse Racing's Shane van Gisbergen is on the pole for the Viva Mexico 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Sunday. With a time of 93.904 mph (92.776 seconds), the 36-year-old New Zealander claimed his first pole of the season in a session that was cut short due to rain. Behind him in the top five are RFK Racing's Ryan Preece, Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain, Joe Gibbs Racing's Ty Gibbs and Spire Motorsports' Michael McDowell.
Other notables outside the top-10 include Kyle Busch (11th), Chase Elliott (12th), Ryan Blaney (18th), Chase Briscoe (19th), Tyler Reddick (22nd), William Byron (27th), and Christopher Bell (31st). Mexico native Daniel Suarez will start 10th as he looks to sweep the weekend after his Xfinity Series win on Saturday. Alex Bowman will start 29th, but will have Xfinity Series driver Anthony Alfredo on standby after last week's hard crash at Michigan. Ryan Truex will roll off 36th in relief of Hamlin while Katherine Legge will make her second Cup Series start in 37th.
NASCAR race start time today: When does the Viva Mexico 250 green flag wave?
Sunday's Viva Mexico 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez will begin shortly after 3 p.m. ET. According to AccuWeather, the temperature is forecasted to be in the 60s throughout the race. There is a 76 percent chance of rain with a little afternoon rain and evening showers. Should it rain, teams will have rain tires available.
Viva Mexico 250 stages explained
Here is what the stage breakdown looks like based on the number of laps being run in the Viva Mexico 250:
Viva Mexico 250 Stage | Lap Number When Points Awarded |
|---|---|
Stage 1 | 20 |
Stage 2 | 45 |
Final Stage | 100 |
For those who don't know, most of the points for the season-long NASCAR Cup Series standings will be awarded for the final stage. Stages 1 and 2, though, give teams two additional opportunities to score points, as well as extra breaks for pit stops (and for the TV product, commercial breaks).
Ten points go to the stage winners, and the remainder of the top 10 receive points in decreasing order with the 10th-place finisher getting one point. The stage victories and additional points can prove valuable throughout the season as drivers try to qualify for the 10-race playoffs that begin at Darlington Raceway on Aug. 31.
Viva Mexico 250 TV channel, broadcast and streaming info
The NASCAR Cup Series race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Sunday will be streamed exclusively on Prime Video with the pre-race coverage of the Viva Mexico 250 beginning at 2 p.m. ET. Fans can also catch the race on MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and streaming on Max.