Cease me when you’ve heard this earlier than.
After escaping playoff elimination, 4 drivers are set to battle for the best to be topped champion — and it comes down to 1 race. Whoever can deal with the strain, seize each alternative and cross the beginning/end line forward of their fellow contenders will accomplish the final word purpose.
However this isn’t a battle for the Invoice France Cup we‘ve come to know the final decade within the NASCAR Cup Collection — it‘s the duel for the NASCAR México Collection Championship, the place stars south of the border goal to make historical past.
Xavi Razo, Alex de Alba, Rubén García Jr. and Abraham Calderón have mastered all of it, overcoming fierce competitors and a grueling season. Via 9 regular-season races and two postseason contests — the place three drivers had been eradicated in every race and factors resetted — just one extra occasion stays earlier than one among their names is etched as champion. For a lot of NASCAR Cup Collection followers, the names Razo, de Alba, García and Calderón won’t carry comparable recognition as Kyle Larson or Denny Hamlin, however in México, they’re nothing in need of legends within the making.
The stakes are even increased than in years previous as whoever claims the championship gained’t simply earn bragging rights for the season, however can even get the honour of being the face that welcomes the Cup Collection to México subsequent season for a world crossover the place Cup and Xfinity Collection will share a tripleheader with the NASCAR México Collection in its capital metropolis.
Solely 10.5 factors separate the 4 contenders in what guarantees to be an all-out bullfight within the season finale at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez circuit on Saturday — which is website of the NASCAR Cup Collection race on June 15, 2025.
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“Now it’s all or nothing,” Xavi Razo, the present factors chief, informed NASCAR.com. “We’ve got two multi-champions in Ruben and Abraham, and Alex de Alba has been good all 12 months. I feel persevering with the momentum and attacking goes to be the technique”
Razo has erupted this season, equalling his profession variety of 4 wins within the first 11 races and netting high fives in all however one race. The 36-year-old is in his eleventh full-time season and third driving the No. 7 JV Motorsports Chevrolet. Razo has actually turned a nook , along with his group firing on all cylinders from atop the pit field all the best way to the spotter stand.
“I feel the communication we’re having now, my data of the automobile and attempting to speak all the data, we’re doing an excellent job. I feel that’s the important thing that we’re like complementing one another in each single approach,” Razo stated.
Being in one of many quickest automobiles and competing for a championship has been a protracted journey for Razo. Battling testicular most cancers again in 2014, he didn‘t know if he would even be again behind the wheel.
Ten years in the past at El Dorado Speedway in Chihuahua, Razo thought he was making ready for his last race after medical doctors discovered the most cancers spreading all through his physique. Razo led 50 laps, his first time ever main, and was decided to see Victory Lane for the primary time. Sadly, after a mechanical difficulty, Razo didn’t convert his dominance right into a win. Shortly after, he began therapy.
Spending eight months out of the automobile in 2014, Razo was centered on returning to racing and was eager to hunt wins as soon as he obtained again. The one drawback was that wins had been laborious to come back by as he netted solely 4 over the following 9 seasons. He returned to , not permitting anybody or something to barricade his entrance into Victory Lane. Razo then adopted that efficiency by and he ended the common season with one other triumph earlier than nabbing of 2024 within the playoff opener at Querétaro Racetrack.
“My profession has been very troublesome, like all people not simply me, as a result of, the most cancers, altering groups or not having an entire season. It has been very laborious. However at present I can say I’m very completely happy and every thing has been superb to now be tremendous centered to win this championship.”
Respiration down Razo‘s neck by a mere three factors is reigning rookie of the 12 months Alex de Alba, who might have essentially the most momentum heading into the finale as .
“I’m essentially the most ready man mentally for this race out of all 4,” de Alba informed NASCAR.com. “As a result of I gained the final race in Puebla, that gave me an enormous enhance of confidence. I feel the strain is on them. I do know I can do nice. I do know I might be within the high three locations. However yeah, profitable that final race was an enormous enhance for me and my group. I feel it’s essentially the most excellent approach that I might have arrived to the ultimate 4.”
Not solely did de Alba‘s win come well timed within the playoffs to lock into the Championship 4, nevertheless it was his maiden win within the NASCAR México Collection. After profitable the Problem Collection Championship in 2022 — México’s model of the Xfinity Collection — de Alba was dreaming of being proper in the course of a title struggle at Mexico’s high degree of racing.
“I anticipated to be there,” de Alba stated. “Nevertheless it’s nonetheless like, I would like somebody to pinch me and say ‘Okay, you gained final 12 months within the Problem Collection. Now you’re competing with these huge guys, and you are able to do it.’ I nonetheless really feel very shocked [to be in the Championship 4], however fairly excited to compete in opposition to all these guys. They’re fairly robust.”
With high 10s in all however one race up to now this 12 months driving the No. 14 AGA Racing Crew Chevrolet, de Alba is aware of he has the tempo to turn into the primary rookie to hoist the large trophy in collection historical past. The important thing issue for him can be if he can discover a deeper aggression degree in opposition to the three veterans he’s up in opposition to.
“Watching the replay of final 12 months’s last in México, I feel it’s going to be a second half of pure mess. Everybody wished to realize some locations on these last restarts.
“I feel that’s going to be the important thing (this 12 months), to be tremendous aggressive on the restarts. There’s no level in saving your automobile on the final, half-hour of the race, proper? I do know now we have a reasonably good automobile on lengthy runs. We’ve got been very quick all 12 months in these lengthy runs, however the hardest half goes to be defending these positions on all these restarts.”
The problem for each Razo and de Alba is holding off Rubén García Jr., arguably essentially the most profitable driver in NASCAR México Collection historical past. García is only one win away from tying the all-time file of 26 victories and goals for his fifth championship title — which might lengthen his file for many titles in collection historical past — particularly after the heartbreak of final 12 months’s title struggle.
“I’ve been lucky to win just a few (championships), and so they all have been particular,” García informed NASCAR.com. “However this subsequent one, specifically, felt prefer it was taken away from me. I led the entire deal till a lap and a half earlier than the checkered flag, and the driving force contending for the title wrecked me, ruining my day and my full season.”
Fueled by that disappointment, García kicked off the season , dominating a chaotic race that featured eight cautions. Since then, the No. 88 Crew GP Chevrolet has constantly completed within the high 10 and secured two extra regular-season wins in July.
García’s journey started with Rev Racing in 2016, the place he spent 4 seasons within the ARCA Menards Collection. Though the COVID-19 pandemic stalled his ascent in NASCAR‘s nationwide collection, he remained decided to excel in each race he entered. “I began studying and getting expertise since I used to be very younger,” García stated. “Now, at 28, I can capitalize on that have. I really feel that’s my sturdy card.”
He emphasizes the significance of seat time, noting that even high drivers like Kyle Busch or Larson proceed to race at decrease ranges to refine their abilities. He approaches racing and preparation the identical. “I spend numerous time on a dust bike, which helps with hand-eye coordination and cardio. The extra time you spend in a automobile, the higher.”
One would assume that being in competition to win a championship for 9 straight seasons and the familiarity of being on this second makes García essentially the most snug. However like all motorsports disciplines, nothing is ever assured and García isn‘t taking the chance so as to add to his legacy evenly.
“It‘s very laborious to say which you can truly really feel snug with these eventualities,” García stated. “However undoubtedly I really feel like I’ve essentially the most expertise out of the opposite drivers. I‘ve realized how one can (get) together with my group within the strain of being in competition for a title, so now we have to undoubtedly take that on our benefit. My group, I feel is very well ready to work with strain. So, it‘s an ideal state of affairs for us, we‘ve been doing this for 9 years, so we all know what it takes to win the championship.”
García isn’t the one one with expertise vying for a title; Abraham Calderón, a 17-time winner and two-time champion, is true on García’s heels, trailing by simply 2.5 factors. Whereas Calderón , it’s been the one journey to Victory Lane for the No. 2 Telmex Racing Crew Chevrolet.
“It’s been a troublesome season for us,” Calderón informed NASCAR.com. “We truly had velocity in each single race, however we struggled with flat tires and different points.”
Since his victory at Súper Óvalo Chiapas, Calderón has added solely 4 extra top-10 finishes, together with a runner-up spot within the playoff opener at Querétaro. Regardless of these challenges, the muse of a championship-caliber driver and group stays sturdy.
“I feel previously three races, we did what we needed to do on the proper second,” Calderón stated. “We all know we’re aggressive, and the group has been working laborious to present us the best instruments to struggle in each race.”
As he prepares for the championship showdown, Calderón emphasizes consistency and confidence.
“I’m not attempting to do one thing completely different. I’m simply attempting to do my finest,” he stated. “I feel that the group deserves this championship. We’ve got the velocity and we’re actually aggressive all through the season, however the struggles and conditions we’ve confronted didn’t allow us to present that. I consider this is a chance we’re going to take and profit from.”
The NASCAR Mexico Collection might not be as acquainted to U.S. audiences as its premier American counterpart, nevertheless it delivers the identical depth with a roster of gifted drivers, showcasing the top-tier expertise from Latin America and proving that NASCAR‘s enchantment transcends borders.
So whereas names, faces and tracks could also be completely different, NASCAR México’s Championship 4 battle is ready as much as be simply as electrifying as any battle can be in stock-car racing, however with its distinct aptitude.
Every driver carries their very own distinctive story and motivation, setting the stage for a battle that transcends mere competitors — it‘s about legacy, redemption and delivering on one among racing’s largest levels.
