De Alba victory brings the battle for four tickets to the NASCAR Mexico final closer

Alex de Alba Jr. won this Sunday, October 5th at the Súper Óvalo Potosino with a green-white-checkered flag finish. De Alba crossed the finish line ahead of Julio Rejón by a narrow margin, while Germán Quiroga scored a critical podium to stay alive in the playoffs, having entered the race 21 points below the cutline.

The 200-lap race was decided on the final restart. De Alba held the lead and Rejón couldn't complete the pass. Quiroga finished third after starting fifth, avoiding the multiple incidents that occurred during the 196 completed laps.

Photo By Nascar México Series

De Alba Scores Important Win Before the Decisive Race

Alex de Alba was second in the playoffs with 1091 points, just 5 points behind Julio Rejón (1096). The victory positions him better heading into the elimination race in Aguascalientes, where the four finalists will be determined.

De Alba qualified third on Saturday behind Max Gutiérrez and Rubén Rovelo, but found the pace in the race that he lacked in qualifying. Gutiérrez, who achieved his best pole at the Súper Óvalo Potosino, led the early laps but couldn't maintain the pace.

Quiroga Moves Away from the Danger Zone with Critical Podium

Germán Quiroga arrived in San Luis Potosí in a delicate position. Being 21 points below the line separating the four qualifiers, he needed a strong result. The third place gives him breathing room to arrive in Aguascalientes with better options.

Rejón pressured De Alba until the end. "I was quite confident the top lane could be mine, but Alex managed the final laps perfectly," explained Rejón. "We had a great race, and that led us to achieve this result."

Gutiérrez Falls from Third to Eighth, Jeopardizing His Qualification

Max Gutiérrez had achieved his best qualifying position at the Súper Óvalo Potosino on Saturday. Starting from pole, he commanded the early laps but couldn't sustain the pace. He finished eighth, a result that puts him at risk with only the elimination race in Aguascalientes remaining.

Gutiérrez was third with 1087 points, just 7 points ahead of Eloy Sebastian (1080). Rovelo finished fourth, Eloy Falcón fifth and Rubén García Jr. sixth.

Aguascalientes Will Determine the Four Contenders for the Title in Puebla

On October 19th, the elimination race will be held at the Óvalo Aguascalientes México. The current seven contenders will be reduced to four. The grand finale will be on November 9th at the Autódromo Miguel E. Abed in Puebla, where only those four competitors will fight for the championship.

The playoff situation before San Luis Potosí: Julio Rejón with 1096 points, Alex de Alba with 1091, Max Gutiérrez with 1087 and Eloy Sebastian with 1080 inside the qualification zone. Outside: Germán Quiroga 21 points behind, Xavi Razo 25.5 behind and Abraham Calderón 32.5 behind.

Photo By Nascar México Series

Diego Ortíz Wins in Challenge Series and Gains Ground in His Fight for the Final

Diego Ortíz won in the Challenge Series, finishing seventh in the overall classification. Helio Meza finished second in the category and Giancarlo Vecchi third. "I leave San Luis Potosí happy, everything worked out as we planned," said Ortíz.

Víctor Barrales Jr. had taken the Challenge Series pole with a time of 21.140 but finished seventh in his category. Barrales entered the race 32 points below the cutline. Helio Meza led the Challenge standings with 1093 points before the race, followed by Ortíz with 1085 and Vecchi with 1073.

Results - La Potosina 200 - NASCAR México Series