The Cup Series traveled to Mexico this weekend for the first points-paying race outside the United States in the modern era. This is also the first of three road course races in the next month on the schedule. It should be fun to see how it all plays out at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. The Viva Mexico 250 can be seen Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on Prime Video.
PRACTICE SPEEDS FOR MEXICO
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is a new track for the Cup Series. NASCAR gave the teams two practices Friday to figure out this 2.417-mile, flat road course. The first practice was 55-minutes long and the second practice was 25-minutes long. The teams had plenty of time to make a run, make adjustments and then go back on the track to see if the adjustments worked. The drivers who were fast in practice should be fast in the race Sunday.
Here are the speeds from Friday’s final practice session at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriquez…
STRATEGY FOR MEXICO
We have been using a lot of allocations with our top drivers over the last two months. It is time to give them a break and take a chance with the drivers who excel on the road courses. I know I preach that it is not as important to save allocations in the Fantasy Live game as people think it is, but this is a good race to use drivers like Shane van Gisbergen, AJ Allmendinger, Michael McDowell and Daniel Suarez.
Here are the picks for the Viva Mexico 250…
SHANE VAN GISBERGEN (9): There is no doubt that SVG is the best road course driver in the Cup Series. He has only been to Victory Lane once in his seven road course races, but he has run up front in all of them. SVG had one of the fastest cars in the first practice and then he made some small runs in final practice. SVG liked his car and he has the talent to win Sunday. Simply lock SVG into your lineups at all of the road course races and move onto the next pick.
ROSS CHASTAIN (8): Chastain may be the most underrated driver in the Cup Series on the road courses. He won the race at COTA in 2022 and he finished four of the last six road course races in the top-10. Chastain posted the second-fastest speed in final practice and the No.1 car qualified 3rd for the race. Chastain is going to drive it like he stole it Sunday. I expect the No. 1 car to score well for your Fantasy Live lineup.
TY GIBBS (7): I took a chance with Gibbs last week (despite a lot of people telling me it was too risky of a pick) and he finished 3rd. Am I messing with fire by going back to Gibbs for another race? Maybe. Gibbs competed in the Xfinity Series race Saturday some extra of practice time and an additional 65 laps to figure out Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. The No. 54 car looked like the fastest car in practice and Gibbs qualified 4th for the race. I’m a glutton for punishment, so I will press my luck with Gibbs Sunday.
MICHAEL MCDOWELL (10): McDowell has had a lot of success at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. I know it was a long time ago (2004 and 2005), but at least he has raced here before. McDowell typically runs up front and scores Stage Points on the road courses. McDowell posted the fastest speed in the first practice and he was so happy with the car that they only made a few single-lap runs in final practice. McDowell has a good chance to finish in the top-five Sunday.
CHASE ELLIOTT (8): Elliott used to be the driver to beat in the Cup Series before the Gen-7 car was introduced. It looks like NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver is starting to figure out the Gen-7 car on the road courses. Elliott finished three of his last four road course races in the top-five. The No. 9 car has some speed once again this weekend. Elliott was only 12th-fastest in final practice, but he said he liked the car for the race Sunday. This is a good race to use an allocation with Elliott.
(GARAGE PICK) CHRIS BUESCHER (6): The safest pick in the field this week may be Buescher. He has some momentum after his 2nd-place finish last week. Buescher leads the Cup Series with an average finishing position of 7.9 in the Gen-7 car on the road courses. The No. 17 car looks fast again this weekend and Buescher has the talent to keep the car up front. I will use another allocation with the No. 17 car Sunday.
* Two popular picks this weekend will be DANIEL SUAREZ and AJ ALLEMNDINGER. Saurez has had some speed this week, but I just do not trust him in the race. Allmendinger was horrible in practice but he looked fast in qualifying. Allmendinger is a boom or bust driver. He either finishes in the top-five or outside the top-30. You can use him over CHASE ELLIOTT, but I trust Elliott over Allmendinger.
Good luck and be sure to follow me on X (Twitter) @MrFantasyNASCAR. I will send out a Tweet during the race to let you know if I plan to swap out one of my drivers for my Garage pick.