Shane van Gisbergen wins NASCAR Cup Series Mexico City, marking a career milestone as he secures his first victory of the season at the challenging road course event. The race, held in Mexico City, also saw Ty Gibbs narrowly miss out on a win due to an ill-timed caution, intensifying the competitive narrative between two standout drivers.
Expert Analysis of the Mexico City Showdown
NASCAR insiders Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi discussed the aftermath and turning points of the race on The Teardown podcast. Their commentary highlighted van Gisbergen’s anticipated strength on the road course circuit.
“This is exactly what we would have thought all along,”
—Jeff Gluck, The Athletic. Gluck continued to emphasize why both analysts predicted van Gisbergen would advance to the playoffs, pointing out his steady improvement on oval tracks and recent notable performances.
“This is exactly what we thought coming into the season, this is why we both picked him to make the playoffs. Yeah, it’s taken him a while to get up to speed on oval racing. I think he might have been more off than we thought, but he’s had some good oval runs recently.”
—Jeff Gluck, The Athletic.
Gluck also observed that the Mexico City layout was a perfect fit for van Gisbergen’s driving skills. Meanwhile, Ty Gibbs emerged as the main contender, closely challenging van Gisbergen for much of the race‘s duration.
Ty Gibbs’ Performance and Critical Caution
The race dynamics shifted drastically when a caution, triggered by Carson Hocevar, disadvantaged Ty Gibbs during a critical phase.
“Ty Gibbs was going to be competitive with him. Unfortunately, Ty Gibbs was screwed by the timing of the [Carson] Hocevar caution,”
—Jeff Gluck, The Athletic. After the finish, Gluck mentioned his conversation with Gibbs on pit road.
“I talked to Ty Gibbs on pit road afterwards, and he was trying to keep a positive attitude. I said, ‘Do you think you had something for SVG or were you just going to run top two or top three anyway?’ He said, ‘No, I think we could have beat him.’ He could have.”
—Jeff Gluck, The Athletic.
Bianchi also detailed his post-race discussion with van Gisbergen, sharing that the New Zealand driver struggled with his car before the caution while running in second place.
“It would have been interesting to watch how SVG would have managed that,”
—Jordan Bianchi, The Athletic. Bianchi added,
“Honestly, it would have been really interesting to see how Ty Gibbs would have managed that. We know how aggressive Ty Gibbs can be at times. Coming down the stretch, if they’re going head-to-head, I would presume that Ty is going to be going all out for it. I think we would have saw a hellacious battle.”
—Jordan Bianchi, The Athletic.
Implications for the Cup Series Playoffs
With this Mexico City victory, van Gisbergen has now clinched a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Given that five playoff tracks are road courses—a format that suits his background—there is growing speculation that he could mount a significant challenge for the championship in his first year as a full-time NASCAR driver. Ty Gibbs’ near-miss keeps the season‘s competitive stakes high as both drivers look forward to further battles on a mix of ovals and road courses.
The dramatic developments in Mexico City not only affirm Shane van Gisbergen’s rapid adjustment to the series but also highlight the unpredictable nature of NASCAR racing, especially when caution periods come into play at key moments. Fans and insiders alike will be watching closely as the playoff picture evolves and as both van Gisbergen and Ty Gibbs pursue season-defining results.
