The Tulum 100, the first NASCAR México race on a temporary circuit outside a racetrack, ended with Eloy Falcón in first place, his first victory in the category. Rodrigo Rejón finished second and Irwin Vences third in a crash-filled 60-minute race on the 600-meter oval built at the Tulum International Airport.
Rubén Rovelo had crossed the line first but was penalized for not respecting his chosen position on the starting grid. The infraction sent him to eighth place in the official classification and cost him what would have been his 29th victory, one more than Rubén García Jr., the current championship leader and all-time winningest driver in the category with 29 wins.
García Jr., who had started from pole position on Sunday, finished seventh. The championship leader with 95 points arrived at Tulum with two consecutive victories at San Luis Potosí and Chiapas, but could not maintain the pace on the short oval and lost positions in the second half of the race.
Rubén Rovelo's penalty
Rovelo arrived at Tulum in third place in the championship with 80 points. A win would have given him 40 points and brought him within 15 points of García Jr. in the fight for the lead. Finishing eighth, he only scored 12 points and now the gap is larger, complicating his entry into the Chase among the top 10.
The race had multiple yellow flags due to contact on the short oval. The most significant incident occurred in turn three when five cars touched and some climbed over others. Rejón, who had started third on the grid, stayed close to the front and took advantage of Rovelo's penalty to finish second. Vences started seventh and moved up to third.
José Luis Ramírez finished fourth and Germán Quiroga fifth. Max Gutiérrez, second in the championship before Tulum with 85 points, finished tenth and lost ground in the standings.
Richards drove alone at the front in Challenge Series
The Challenge Series race at Tulum went to Emiliano Richards, who controlled all 60 laps without pressure. Giancarlo Vecchi recovered to second place and Mateo Girón was third.
Vecchi arrived as championship leader with 70 points, one more than Víctor Barrales. Vecchi had qualifying issues that left him mid-pack, but the yellow flags allowed him to recover. Barrales, third at the start, finished eighth and lost ground in the standings.
Richards secured his first victory of the season and with 54 points entered the conversation for the Chase. Vecchi maintains the lead with his second top 3 of the year. Barrales, winner of the first round at San Luis Potosí, is now second in points but has not won since then.
The fourth round of NASCAR México and Challenge Series will be on May 16-17 at the Autódromo Miguel E. Abed in Puebla.
Photo By Nascar México Series
Photo By Nascar México Series
Photo By Nascar México Series