They dominate Daytona, rule Richmond, and own Charlotte, but when the track twists left and right, even NASCAR’s greatest champions can look like rookies. Ovals are NASCAR’s bread and butter, with high-speed drafting and left-turn mastery defining the sport’s legends. Road courses, though, flip the script. Left and right turns, elevation shifts, and heavy braking zones demand finesse, brake control, and tricky setups, feeling more like Formula 1 than stock car slugfests. These circuits expose gaps, turning oval kings into underdogs.

Take Kevin Harvick in 2021. A beast on ovals with an 8.4 average finish and 22 top-10s across 29 races, he flopped on road courses, averaging 21st over seven starts with zero top-fives. Brake and setup woes dogged him at COTA, and he called the Indy road course “terrible for our sport.” Even icons like Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Jimmie Johnson struggled—each nabbed just one road win, both at Sonoma in 1995 and 2010, respectively. Road courses don’t play favorites.

The flip side? Road courses crown unlikely heroes. Marcos Ambrose, a V8 Supercars champ, couldn’t crack ovals but owned Watkins Glen, winning back-to-back Cup races in 2011 and 2012. AJ Allmendinger, a mid-pack oval driver, stunned at Indy’s 2021 road course debut, outdueling Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson in overtime. These tracks shake up the pecking order, and Mexico City’s Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez just delivered another shocker.

Shane van Gisbergen finally finds his mojo in Mexico

Shane van Gisbergen turned heads at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, snagging pole for the Viva México 250 with a blistering 1:32.776s lap in the No. 88 Trackhouse Chevy. “We made some big swings last night. Our No. 88 Safety Culture Chevrolet was a bit better, We had a lot more front grip, which is what I needed,” he said. It’s his second career pole, both on road courses, joining legends Dan Gurney and Tyler Reddick as the only Cup drivers to do so. Sitting 33rd in points, SVG needs a win to shake the playoffs, and Mexico’s his shot.

RFK Racing’s Ryan Preece, 0.064s off SVG’s pace, grabbed second, denying Trackhouse a front-row sweep. Preece, still chasing his first Cup win, showed grit. Trackhouse’s Ross Chastain nailed third, his best qualifying of 2025, with Ty Gibbs fourth and Michael McDowell fifth. The top 10—Kyle Larson (sixth), Todd Gilliland (seventh), AJ Allmendinger (eighth), Joey Logano (ninth), and Daniel Suárez (10th)—bucked oval norms, with road course specialists shining.

Weather cut qualifying short, locking in SVG’s pole, but the surprises didn’t stop. Chase Briscoe, on a three-pole streak, slumped to 19th. 23XI’s Tyler Reddick led his team at 22nd, while Hendrick’s William Byron (27th) and Alex Bowman (29th) struggled. Christopher Bell, COTA’s road course winner, shocked at 31st. Ryan Truex, subbing for Denny Hamlin, qualified 36th in his first Cup start since 2014, with Katherine Legge last at 37th. Mexico’s 2.417-mile, 14-turn layout is rewriting the script.

SVG’s pole is a lifeline after a brutal 2025 start. His road course prowess, honed in Australian V8 Supercars, makes him a threat to steal the win and jolt the playoff race. Apart from that, P6 finish in COTA, the Kiwi driver has struggled to find any joy on ovals. With four top 20s so far on traditional tracks, the driver and his team were banking on a streak of road courses lined up on the schedule. And SVG is flexing his muscles against his rivals, who often outrun him on most weekends.

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Logano braces for Mexico’s curveballs

Joey Logano’s not underestimating Mexico City’s Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. The Team Penske star, ninth in points, warned of surprises at the high-altitude track, NASCAR’s first international Cup points race in nearly 70 years. “What lessons are we going to learn the hard way? I think something is probably going to catch us off guard,” he said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The 7,350-foot elevation saps engine power, cuts grip, and stresses brakes, a puzzle even for a two-time champ like Logano.

The track’s thin air, 22% less oxygen than sea-level races, messes with car handling and driver stamina. Logano’s team has prepped hard, but the condensed schedule—two practice sessions, one 50 minutes, the other 25—leaves little time to dial in setups or learn braking zones. “You try to cover all your bases. But when something’s this new, you got to assume something is going to just sneak up,” he added, but the unfamiliar 14-turn layout, with its Foro Sol stadium section, could trip up even the best.

Logano’s caution reflects the field’s unease. Unlike ovals, where he thrives, Mexico’s road course demands precision over raw speed. His ninth-place qualifying shows promise, but SVG’s pole and Allmendinger’s top-10 run prove road specialists hold the edge. With playoffs looming, Logano’s eyeing a clean race to avoid Mexico’s “hard lessons.”

The Viva México 250’s plot twist, SVG’s pole, Bell’s flop, and Logano’s wariness prove that road courses are NASCAR’s wild card. Mexico’s delivering drama, and the race could reshape the season.