The NASCAR Xfinity Series marks its return to Mexico with Saturday afternoon‘s The Chilango 150 (4:30 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The series has held four previous races at the famed Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez — the last in 2008, won by Kyle Busch.
This is the second of seven road-course races on the schedule. JR Motorsports‘ Connor Zilisch, a rookie this season, won the first at Circuit of The Americas from pole position.
MORE: Mexico City schedule | Xfinity standings
Reigning series champion and JRM driver Justin Allgaier earned his third win of the season in the series’ most recent race two weeks ago at Nashville Superspeedway. It marks the fifth time in the last eight years the veteran has scored at least three victories in a season. He holds a 92-point advantage in the championship standings over fellow three-race winner Austin Hill of Richard Childress Racing.
The Illinois native has answered his first career title run with another top-shelf season in the No. 7 JRM Chevrolet. He leads all drivers in laps led (638) and top-10 finishes (10). He‘s only eight top-10 finishes from 300 in his career — a feat never before accomplished in the series.
With 12 regular-season races remaining and six playoff spots still to be claimed, Mexico City certainly presents all the makings of an ultra-competitive weekend.
Sam Mayer and Ty Gibbs have the most road-course wins (four) in this weekend‘s field. Interestingly, nine of the series’ last 11 road-course races have been won by just three drivers (Mayer, Shane van Gisbergen and Zilisch). And Mayer, who is ranked third in the standings, is still looking for his first win of the year.
Gibbs, driving the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota this weekend, is among three Cup Series regulars racing Saturday, joining Daniel Suárez (No. 9 JRM Chevy) and Christopher Bell (No. 24 Sam Hunt Racing Toyota). Craftsman Truck Series rookie Andrés Pérez de Lara will be making his Xfinity Series debut in the No. 91 DGM Racing x JIM Chevrolet.
Kennametal Pole Qualifying is slated for 10:30 a.m. ET on Saturday (The CW App) and historically has proven very significant on road courses, with the polesitter winning 10 of the last 18 road-course races.
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