MEXICO CITY - Hendrick Motorsports' consistency and speed in 2025 certainly made it across the border this weekend.
Chase Elliott (third) and Alex Bowman (fourth) gave the organization a pair of top-five showings as the NASCAR Cup Series held a points-paying event at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City for the first time on Sunday afternoon.
William Byron, who extended his points lead over teammate Kyle Larson to 67 tallies (unofficially), also came home with a ninth-place showing thanks to a furious late rally down the stretch.
Unpredictability loomed large from the start as rain showers brought out a caution flag before the completion of lap one. From there ensued a mixed bag of fuel strategies and, in the early going, a balancing wet and dry tires.
But Elliott's speed and road-course acumen showed up in spades as he twice navigated through traffic after pit stops before coming home with his best finish of the year.
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"I felt like we were in a really good spot, and I was super excited about having tires," Elliott said. "I think we just pressed so hard to try and get through the traffic that when we got singled out, I just didn't have a lot of pace left.
"Really proud of our LLumar Chevy group for sticking with it ... Finally got going there a few runs from the end and (crew chief) Alan (Gustafson) made a good call to get us on tires."
For Bowman, the performance was a testament to toughness as he fought through back pain resulting from a crash at Michigan International Speedway the week prior to register his third top-five finish of the season.
Elliott picked up a pair of stage points in the race's first segment and both he and Byron were running well inside the top 10 toward the end of stage two before short pitting. Bowman, meanwhile, stayed out and finished third, earning eight valuable markers to add to his cushion above the playoff bubble.
An important moment in the outcome of the event came with 36 laps to go as Carson Hocevar spun and stalled, bringing out the caution flag. It would be the last stoppage of the event.
Having already pitted in the final stage, Bowman stayed out, assuming the third position, and with fresh tires, Elliott and Byron began their march forward when the green waved again. Byron was momentarily hindered by some contact early in the stint but found his way through while it was smooth sailing for Elliott, who picked his way forward spot-by-spot before running out of laps.
Kyle Larson qualified highest among the Hendrick Motorsports contingent in sixth. However, just seven laps in, Larson was caught up in a crash not of his own doing as Kyle Busch lost control, slamming into the No. 5 Valvoline Chevy.
With every point mattering, however, the team furiously went to work in the garage to get the car back on track. Larson returned several laps down and after repairs and pit stops, laid down the race's fastest lap, earning a bonus point in the process.
The NASCAR Cup Series will return next week with a race at Pocono Raceway. The green flag is set to wave at 2 p.m. next Sunday and will air on Prime Video.
Who won the NASCAR race today?
- Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88
- Christopher Bell, No. 20
- Chase Elliott, No. 9 LLumar Chevrolet
- Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet
- Michael McDowell, No. 71
- John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42
- Chase Briscoe, No. 19
- Cole Custer, No. 41
- William Byron, No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet
- Chris Buescher, No. 17
- Ty Gibbs, No. 54
- Bubba Wallace, No. 23
- AJ Allmendinger, No. 16
- Ryan Blaney, No. 12
- Ryan Preece, No. 60
- Ross Chastain, No. 1
- Erik Jones, No. 43
- Austin Cindric, No. 2
- Daniel Suarez, No. 99
- Tyler Reddick, No. 45
- Joey Logano, No. 22
- Todd Gilliland, No. 34
- Ryan Truex, No. 11
- Justin Haley, No. 7
- Brad Keselowski, No. 6
- Josh Berry, No. 21
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47
- Austin Dillon, No. 3
- Riley Herbst, No. 35
- Noah Gragson, No. 4
- Cody Ware, No. 51
- Katherine Legge, No. 78
- Ty Dillon, No. 10
- Carson Hocevar, No. 77
- Zane Smith, No. 38
- Kyle Larson, No. 5 Valvoline Chevrolet
- Kyle Busch, No. 8