From a NASCAR Fan’s View
NASCAR is doing something it hasn’t done in around seventy years. They’re taking on the Road Course in Mexico City. (Yeah, I know you already knew that but I just wanted to say it again.) There is nothing like taking on a new venue to show just how talented the NASCAR drivers are and can be.
I found it interesting how the different drivers navigated the various areas of the track. There is that almost 4000-foot straightaway, and then the right and left turns, S’s, and another lengthy straight, followed by more turns, some fast and some slow. There is no doubt in my mind, as a fan, and I am sure many will agree with me, that this race will be a challenge from beginning to end. Of course, it does appear that the ones that are good at road courses have shown they will be forces to be reckoned with.
It wasn’t really a surprise to see Shane Van Gisbergen taking the pole. He may have struggled with the ovals, but he has shown he hasn’t forgotten how to drive the road courses. It is where he feels the most comfortable in this, his early Cup career. As it stands at the moment, he was the class of the field, but the qualifying session was cut short because of a little rain. It remains to be seen if he can stay up front for most, if not all of the race. He may dominate or he may fade, but whatever happens, I am sure he will make his presence known.
SVG wasn’t the only one who showed up ready to race. A bunch of the usual road race standouts are ready to give SVG a run for his money. Even though they didn’t outrun his qualifying time, they did show speed and many of the qualifying times weren’t that far behind.
Honestly, there weren’t that many surprises as far as qualifying went and I am sure the lineup may have turned out a little differently had some of them gotten to take a second run. The rain kept that from happening, but the top fifteen or so is chock-full of good road racers. Some of the standouts are Ryan Preece, Ross Chastain, Michael McDowell and Kyle Larson, to name a few. Some others are AJ Allmendinger, Daniel Suarez, Kyle Bush, Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney.
Actually, it would be easy to list most of the whole field. There are several reasons for that. One of the biggest reasons is that this is an unfamiliar track to all of them. That opens the door for just about anything unexpected to happen. There could be a not-so-known driver that will find his footing and outrun them all. That’s not something this fan really expects to happen but it is something that can’t be totally ignored.
There are some really good road course racers starting pretty far back in the field. I won’t mention them all, but I will mention a few. Carson Hocevar can never be ignored as a possible front-runner. I’m not so sure of his road racing prowess, but I am definitely sure of his desire and aggression. He is also capable of running at or near the front.
Another would be Alex Bowman. He is a good road racer but has had some bad racing luck lately. Much of it hasn’t been his fault, but he has been affected by it all the same. If there is someone in the field who needs to have a good run at Mexico City, that would be Alex Bowman. I believe he is due to see his racing luck turn around, but I am not sure it will happen in today’s race.
One thing in particular that surprises this fan is William Byron. I can’t believe he qualified twenty-seventh. The way he’s been running lately, I thought he might flex a little more muscle for this one. Evidently, we will have to wait and see how things go as the race progresses. He may be one of the dark horses for this one.
I’ll just mention one last one that surprised me as far as qualifying went. Christopher Bell qualified thirty-first. It would not be a surprise to see him move up through the field and be a contender when this one is over though. It wouldn’t be the first time he has surprised many by starting further back in the field and then showing up in the top five, running for the win.
This should be a very interesting afternoon of racing in Mexico City. Although SVG does have an advantage by starting on the pole, staying at the front is sometimes easier said than done. After all, Daniel Suarez surprised many by winning the Xfinity race. Will he do the same in the Cup race? I’m guessing we will find out when this one is all over…
Hey, this is Russ and that’s my view… See ya next time…
All views expressed are strictly the opinion of the writer
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Rusty Norman, Nascarfansview.com and Justafansview.com
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