NASCAR México Series Kicked-Off ‘The Chase’ At Aguascalientes

The Top-Mexican motorsports series, NASCAR México, started the final leg of the 2026 championship —the first of four rounds of ‘The Chase’— at Óvalo Aguascalientes México (OAM).

Eloy Falcón and his No. 9 team made the right pit-fuel call to set themselves on the top spot after 170 laps at the 1.408 kilometer (0.87 miles) oval.

Giancarlo Vecchi made a valiant effort to recover from a tire blowout to collect the NASCAR Challenge division win; Roberto Espinosa grabbed his fourth win of the year on Trucks México Series.

Fuel-Stops

The start of the 10th Round of NASCAR México Series, named “Aguascalientes del Gigante de México 170”, began dominated by the Tyson Racing machinery: poleman Xavi Razo stood on 1st place followed by his teammate Giancarlo Vecchi, who led the classification of the Challenge division.

Razo kept the lead through the first two restarts; meanwhile, Vecchi lose ground. Around lap 30 the first round of pit stops for fuel was set in motion during a caution flag. The No. 7 team stayed out on track to maintain position looking to get the Stage win.

On lap 58 the outcome for Tyson Racing changed: Vecchi spun-out on the exit of Turn 2 after his rear-right tire blew out. The No. 75 managed to kept the car out of the wall and returned to pits for repairs.

The caution flag caused by Vecchi affected his teammate: Razo and the No. 7 opted to made their mandatory fuel pit-stop and taking themselves out of contention for the Stage win.

Team GP drivers gained track position on the last laps of Stage 1. Max Gutiérrez finished 1st followed by his teammate Ruben García Jr. Rubén Rovelo earned the last point at the lap 70 cut-off.

Championship leader of the Challenge division, Emiliano Richards rose to the top on the last restart of the first segment. Jorge de la Parra finished 2nd and rookie Mateo Girón took the last Stage point.

All Green

The second part of the “Aguascalientes del Gigante de México 170” went on fast, as a 94 green-flag run to the finish line.

Gutiérrez and García Jr led the way until Falcón and Razo attacked and grabbed the top spots.

Falcón took the lead on lap 114, leading the last 56 laps at OAM. The No. 9 stock had to defend from No. 7. Razo tried —running between 1.5 to 0.5 seconds— but failed to overtake the leader, having to conform with 2nd place.

While the leaders opened a big gap in front, various cars had to made a quick-extra pit stop for fuel; others lowered the pace to save fuel. This situation changed the final order of the race.

Falcón earned his 2nd win of his sophomore NASCAR México season finishing 0.683 seconds ahead of Razo. Irwin Vences finished 3rd, 13 seconds behind the leader.

“We knew we had a great car. We were intelligent, kept climbing in the order. After Stage 1 my team made the right changes to gave me a faster car. We got to the top and kept it there,” said Falcón at the Victory Lane and added: “I’m really happy to start ‘The Chase’ this way. Without doubt we are going for the championship.”

Vecchi completed the comeback after his woes of Stage 1.

The No. #75 stock didn’t waste any time on Stage 2. Taking advantage of the ‘Lucky Dog’ and the choose rule, to gain positions, Vecchi set a higher race pace to take the lead on lap 105 and led the last 65 laps of the Challenge division.

The Tyson Racing earned his 2nd win of the season. Gerardo ‘Chispa’ Rodríguez finished 17 seconds behind the leader on 2nd place. Víctor Barrales took the last step of the podium.

“We were running on 2nd place, but things happen… A tire started to loose pressure.” mentioned Vecchi and added: “Because all of our grit and thanks to the great work of the team (…) we were looking for things to improve.”

‘The Chase’ points, after Round 1 of the post-season, are as it follows:

"El Chase" se encendió en Aguascalientes y de manera extraoficial así luce la batalla por el título tras este primer desafío 🚨#NASCAR #NASCARMx #NASCARMex #ElChase2026 pic.twitter.com/P3PPgWNcYf

— NASCAR MÉXICO SERIES (@NASCARMex) September 28, 2026

Triple Fight

Trucks México Series opened track activity on Sunday morning at the OAM. The trucks put up a big show during the 100 lap race.

This time the win was fought between two teams from San Luis Potosí: Dynamic Motorsports —represented by Roberto Espinosa and rookie Sebastián Rodríguez— and ANVI Motorsport with Jan Phillip Krüll at the wheel of the No. 7 truck.

Trucks No. 96, 9 and 7 rapidly set themselves on the first spots, positions that kept most of the race. Krüll led 74 laps, won Stages 1 and 2 and drove the truck to beat. Meanwhile, Espinosa and Rodríguez waited until the last laps to make their moves.

On lap 90 Rodríguez attacked for the lead alone and grabbed the top spot momentarily. Espinosa reacted, surprised his teammate -who fell to 5th place- and Krüll on the inside lane get to the front.

Rodríguez returned for the last lap shootout. Krüll took Espinosa’s draft, searched for the lead on the exit of Turn 2; the No. 9 truck gained momentum on the outside lane. The Top-3 race side-by-side on the back stretch.

On Turn 3 entry, Rodriguez came down and touched slightly Krüll’s truck. Espinosa kept the lead on the chequered flag finishing 0.051 seconds ahead of his teammate and 0.091 seconds in front of the No. 7 truck.

“Yet another close finish with my teammate and with Jan Phillip. I’m really happy with the 1-2 for the team, we made a great job (…) We’ve improved the driving on the last laps and this win is proof of that.” mentioned Espinosa after his win.

While Espinosa, Rodríguez and Krüll fought for the win, their rivals of ‘The Chase’ struggled: Carlos Novelo finished 5th after having mechanical issues. Everardo Fonseca ended 6th far from the leaders. Santiago Cruz was penalized for exceeding the pit lane speed limit and later lose race pace (he fished 5 laps down). Valeria Aranda DNF’d after crashing with trucks No. 13 and 50 on lap 45.

NASCAR México Series’ ‘The Chase’ will continue on October 17 and 18 for the double date at Autódromo Yucatán. The Gran Premio Yucatán 200 tickets are available here.