The NASCAR Cup season concluded one week ago at Phoenix with Kyle Larson besting Denny Hamlin for the crown in overtime, but the NASCAR Mexico Series still had one race left to go, and it’s ending was even more intense.
NASCAR’s Latin American division headed to Amozoc, Puebla in central Mexico for the Championship 4 finale. Julio Rejón, Alex de Alba, Germán Quiroga, and Max Gutiérrez faced off in the battle for the title at Autódromo Miguel E. Abed.
The race featured a bizarre incident after Santiago Tovar spun and got stuck in the barriers in his No. 22 machine. While waiting for assistance, a safety vehicle actually rammed the car in the right-front. It’s unclear what happened to cause it, but no one was injured in the strange collision.
The title fight also ended dramatically as Rejón and Gutiérrez battled it out on the final lap. Entering the final corner, they collided and there was a massive crash, involving multiple cars.
Rubén Rovelo, who was ahead of the chaos, captured the checkered flag, but what about the title finalists?
De Alba made it through the carnage, but a Gutiérrez was right with him as they drag-raced to the line. Gutiérrez, was at the epicenter of the Rejón crash, slammed into de Alba. The two drivers crossed the line entangled with Gutiérrez’s nose buried into the left-rear of de Alba, who maintained control as he finished fourth and won the championship with the AGA Racing Team.
The 28-year-old is a first-time champion for the NASCAR Mexico Series, earning the title one year after being named Rookie of the Year. In the same race, Diego Ortíz won the championship in the NASCAR Mexico Challenge division.
Along with Larson (Cup), Jesse Love (Xfinity), and Corey Heim (Trucks) as NASCAR’s top national champions for the 2025 season, de Alba and Ortíz join the following drivers as some other notable NASCAR champs this year:
– Brenden Queen (ARCA)
– Isaac Kitzmiller (ARCA East)
– Trevor Huddleston (ARCA West)
– Austin Beers (NASCAR Whelen Modified)
– Marc-Antoine Camirand (NASCAR Canada Series)
– Vittorio Ghirelli (EuroNASCAR Pro)
– Thomas Krasonis (EuroNASCAR Open)
– Rubens Barrichello (NASCAR Brazil)
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