This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.
Viva Mexico 250
Location: Mexico City, Mexico
Course: Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
Format: 2.42-mile road course
Laps: 100
NASCAR Viva Mexico 250 Race Preview
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Mexico City's Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez for the first points race outside of the United States since 1958. If the long haul from Michigan to the Mexico City venues wasn't enough of a challenge, the track is a road course, featuring the longest straight in NASCAR, and is situated almost 7,500 feet above sea level. The far flung race, coupled with the unique track, make it an interesting challenge for the competitors. NASCAR's Xfinity Series has raced there in past, running four events between 2005 and 2008, two of which were won by active Cup Series drivers competing on Sunday (Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin). However, the race is just another opportunity to win and claim a spot in the championship playoffs. The road course specialists in the field will see this as a prime opportunity with a more even playing field, given the circuit's debut on the calendar, and their skills turning right as well as left. Only one road course race has been run so far this season and it was Christopher Bell that got the job done in Texas. Sunday's Viva Mexico 250 is another opportunity for someone to stamp their name on the playoff picture.
Key Stats at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
- Number of races: 0
- Winners from pole: 0
- Winners from top-5 starters: 0
- Winners from top-10 starters: 0
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 0
- Fastest race: N/A
Previous 10 Road Course Winners
2025 Circuit of the Americas - Christopher Bell
2024 Charlotte ROVAL - Kyle Larson
2024 Watkins Glen - Chris Buescher
2024 Chicago - Alex Bowman
2024 Sonoma - Kyle Larson
2024 Circuit of the Americas - William Byron
2023 Charlotte ROVAL - AJ Allmendinger
2023 Watkins Glen - William Byron
2023 Indianapolis Road Course - Michael McDowell
2023 Chicago - Shane van Gisbergen
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is a new circuit for the NASCAR Cup Series, but it has been an international fixture since it opened in 1959 hosting Formula 1, IndyCar, and sportscars throughout its history. The track has a flat 2.42-mile layout that features 15 turns and the longest straight in NASCAR. The circuit is technical in nature but offers several opportunities for passing via out braking the competition or applying the bumper to move cars out of the way. One of the most important aspects of the track that teams will have to contend with is the circuit's elevation. Water boils at a lower temperature the higher you go in the atmosphere, which means channeling enough air into the cooling vents to prevent overheating will be a critical component of reliability. Additionally, the track's hard braking zones will require bigger brake ducts to ensure stopping power remains in the optimal range. As with most other road courses, equipment preservation, track position, and pit strategy are expected to be the primary factors of success. Calling the right strategy to have a driver on fresh tires with positive track position can pay dividends. As road course skills have grown among the Cup Series ranks, there are many contenders that will see this as a golden opportunity to fight for a victory, though.
RotoWire NASCAR DFS Tools
DraftKings Value Picks for the Viva Mexico 250 (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Shane van Gisbergen - $10,500
Christopher Bell - $10,200
Kyle Larson - $10,000
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
William Byron - $9,900
Tyler Reddick - $9,700
Chase Elliott - $9,500
AJ Allmendinger - $9,300
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Kyle Busch - $8,800
Chris Buescher - $8,400
Michael McDowell - $8,200
Austin Cindric - $8,000
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Carson Hocevar - $7,500
Ty Gibbs - $7,400
Joey Logano - $7,000
Riley Herbst - $5,300
NASCAR DFS Picks for the Viva Mexico 250
Shane van Gisbergen - $10,500
AJ Allmendinger - $9,300
Chris Buescher - $8,400
Austin Cindric - $8,000
Ty Gibbs - $7,400
Riley Herbst - $5,300
As with any other road course, Shane van Gisbergen's (DK $10,500, FD $14,000) name (or initials - SVG) will be top of mind. The Australian Supercars ace had a sensational NASCAR debut, winning in Chicago, and is looking for his first series win since becoming a full-time Cup driver after competing last season in the Xfinity Series. Another win is certainly is not out of his reach, and visiting a new NASCAR track like Mexico may give him an extra edge. Van Gisbergen is one of the best road racers in the world and just needs clean execution from his team and on track to score that second series win. He also finished seventh or better in the last three road course races.
Another road course ace is AJ Allmendinger (DK $9,300, FD $11,000). The Kaulig Racing veteran often rises to the top at these tracks and claims wins at Charlotte, Indianapolis, and Watkins Glen. He even had a top-five run in hand before slipping down the order to finish 30th at COTA earlier this season. Like Van Gisbergen, Allmendinger is more than capable of winning on any road course and just needs clean execution in the pits and on track to be in the mix for the victory Sunday.
Fantasy players may be surprised to learn that the Cup driver with the best average finish on road courses (excluding the Chicago street circuit) since 2022 is Chris Buescher (DK $8,400, FD $10,000). From 15 races, Buescher's average finish of 7.9 is even better than SVG's 9.0. Buescher also beat SVG to win at Watkins Glen last year. That victory was just one of Buescher's 14 top-10 finishes on these tracks in the last three years. Those are impressive statistics that easily earn Buescher a spot in this week's lineup. While not showing the consistency of Buescher, Austin Cindric (DK $8,000, FD $7,200) has been starting to rediscover his road course form recently. The Team Penske driver racked up several road course wins in the Xfinity Series but has so far only managed one runner-up road course result in Cup. He finished 25th at COTA in March after tangling with Ty Dillon but was 10th at Watkins Glen and fourth at Charlotte in the two prior road course outings.
This week's race could be an opportunity for Ty Gibbs (DK $7,400, FD $7,500) as well. Like Cindric, Gibbs also found road course success in Xfinity and is working to translate that to Cup competition. These track have given Gibbs a rough time recently with four straight road course finishes outside of the top 20, but he finished third at the Chicago street course last season and claims three other road course top-10 finishes (four if you include Chicago 2023), too. This week's road course could be a good opportunity for him to continue moving his season in a better direction.
Finally, Riley Herbst (DK $5,300, FD $3,000) may not jump out at fantasy players as an obvious road course pick. However, he wasn't bad on these tracks in the Xfinity Series and he finished 17th in his lone Cup Series road course outing earlier this year at COTA. That finish wouldn't be as impressive if you didn't know that he did it from the 31st starting spot. There may not be a ton of data supporting him this week, but climbing through the field again like he did at COTA would be a good return on investment.
NASCAR Best Bets for the Viva Mexico 250
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of 5:30 PM ET Friday
Race Winner - Shane van Gisbergen +330, Kyle Larson +800
Top-Three Finish - William Byron +225
Top-Five Finish - AJ Allmendinger +190
Top-10 Finish - Austin Cindric +130
Oddsmakers aren't giving us any value with Shane van Gisbergen this week. Since winning his debut at Chicago, SVG has done well on the road courses since but he has not won another Cup race since. His best finish since that race was a runner-up finish to Chris Buescher at Watkins Glen last season. He is bound to win again, but wagerers are getting no discounts for picking when exactly that will happen. He rightfully deserves to be the favorite, but not for nearly three times less money. Greater value can be found this week in someone like Kyle Larson. Every week Larson is typically the favorite with odds similar to what SVG is getting this week. For that reason alone, taking Larson this week with nearly three times the payout seems like a better bargain. In addition, Larson is a road course winner at multiple tracks with his most recent victory coming just last season at the Charlotte ROVAL.
Other driver wagers to consider this week include William Byron for a top-three finish, AJ Allmendinger to grab a top-five, and Austin Cindric to score a top-10. All three of these wagers offer positive odds and are well within the wheelhouses of each of these drivers. Byron is on one of his best streaks of the season, contending for the win each week and finished third or better in four of his last six road course outings excluding Chicago. Allmendinger, a road course specialist, finished sixth or better in five of his last seven, and Cindric has two top-10s from his last three starts on these tracks. Not even mentioning the fact that any of these three drivers could contend for this win on Sunday, wagerers should feel comfortable grabbing any of these options.
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