There was a lot of noise surrounding the HMS duo, Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman, ahead of the Mexico City race weekend. Lack of wins and banking on points, their performance was in question in comparison to Kyle Larson and William Byron. However, as the checkered flag dropped at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, the two drivers found themselves inside the top 5, and Elliott even bagged a podium finish in NASCAR’s first international points race since 1958.

With weather playing a role early in the race, it was difficult for drivers to make their moves on the racetrack. Starting 12th, the HMS driver had an uphill climb to finish inside the top 3, and the chaotic restarts and beating and banging took a toll on him as he described how brutal the racing was after the race.

Chase Elliott makes it clear on the Mexico circuit

The restart was Chase Elliott’s golden ticket—or so it seemed. With fresh tires, a fast car, and a decent launch, he clawed past the number 54 and got in front of No. 1 and No. 42. The caution by Carson Hocevar in the final stage flipped the script for Gibbs and allowed Elliott to make ground and get past John Hunter Nemechek. He went on to say, “I think, and started settling in, and I didn’t have anything left. I was kind of cooked after that, and yeah, I think we just pressed so hard to try to get through traffic that we, yeah, when it got singled out, I really just didn’t have a lot of pace left. I mean, I felt like I gained on them there for a little while, but it was pretty pretty tough sledging to get, you know, to that point.”  

Elliott is a road course ringer and, more times than not, he is in contention for race wins. With seven career Cup wins on road courses spanning Watkins Glen, Charlotte Roval, COTA, Daytona, and Road America, he ranks third all-time among active drivers and ties for third overall in NASCAR history. Had it not been for Shane van Gisbergen, Elliott would’ve had a clear shot at victory, but this time around, he had to settle for the podium. And he wasn’t looking to pull off a Carson Hocevar and make enemies for himself in a bid to gain those spots.

“There’s a lot going on for sure. Certainly, you know from the restarts, but once it’s singled out, it really becomes a normal road course. I thought but the restarts were crazy, just, you know, you get in those situations and it’s just so tough because it’s like you don’t want to be the one to run in there and kind of gouge people out of the way and as soon as you don’t you get gouged from you know from behind So it’s just I don’t I don’t love that,” Elliott added. This wasn’t a regular road course race like the Sonoma or the Watkins Glen, every restart and that Turn 1 dive bombs dished out a lot of damage to the entire field. Luckily, Elliott was able to survive those tough battles and bag a solid points day.

Although the HMS star finally bounced back and silenced his critics, the same cannot be said for the British female driver, who was hoping for a good outing after the Phoenix backlash.

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Katherine Legge’s mechanical nightmare derailed her Mexico race

Katherine Legge’s second-ever NASCAR Cup Series start was already shaping up to be a tough climb, but it turned downright bizarre mid-race for the Viva Mexico 250. While running just outside the top 20, the 44-year-old radioed in a mechanical nightmare: her throttle pedal had gotten stuck to her foot. Saying, “Literally welded onto my foot,” as reported by Jeff Gluck on X. He posted saying, ” Katherine Legge says her pedal is stuck to her foot.” In a field packed with road course ringers and chaos, Legge’s race quickly turned into a survival mission.

Her day had started from the back of the tail end of the field. With qualifying shortened to one round due to weather, Legge spun in turn four and wound up dead last on the grid in 37th. But when the green flag dropped, she found rhythm early. She climbed to 23rd in Stage 1 and improved to 20th by the end of Stage 2. Quiet and methodical, her race was shaping up to be a clean, steady climb through the field. Until the late race, a six-car wreck took place.

That seemed to kill her momentum. After stage two, she slowly dropped back and eventually crossed the line in 32nd place. Disappointing for sure, especially after showing real promise against a competitive field and unpredictable conditions. For a driver with limited seat time in equipment, her poise and patience stood out. But mechanical gremlins derailed her efforts. With more races lined up ahead in the season, clean weather and a clean race could allow her to showcase her true potential as a race car driver.