Max Gutiérrez Scores Another Victory and Solidifies His Position in the SLP Chase

Germán Quiroga led the seventh round of the NASCAR México Series for nearly the entire race, but a throttle failure took him out and opened the door for Max Gutiérrez, who won at the Súper Óvalo Potosino. Gutiérrez led a one-two finish for Canel's alongside Rubén García Jr., who finished second by 45 thousandths. The round, the penultimate before the Chase cutoff, left Quiroga without the result he needed and completely reshaped the battle for the final playoff spots.

Photo By Nascar México Series

Quiroga had taken pole on Saturday and turned that speed into control for much of the race. He built a lead that seemed sufficient until the throttle broke and the number 69 car was stranded on track. Gutiérrez, who started from second, inherited the lead and defended it to the finish against a García Jr. who could not find the space to pass.

Irwin Vences finished third, 484 thousandths back, and scored the points that virtually lock him into the Chase. Rodrigo Rejón was fourth, Xavi Razo fifth, and Santiago Tovar sixth. Eloy Falcón, Alex de Alba, and Rubén Rovelo, all inside the qualifying zone before this round, finished outside the top five but maintained the margin to arrive at Puebla with options.

Photo By Nascar México Series

The seventh round changed the winner and also shifted the battle for the Chase. Before this race, Jake Cosío, Germán Quiroga, and Santiago Tovar were outside the top ten qualified spots. Cosío was eleventh with 189 points and needed a strong result in San Luis Potosí to get closer to the cutoff. He retired on lap 35 due to an accident and left the oval without scoring, which practically eliminates him from contention with one round left. Quiroga was twelfth with 185 points and had the race in his hands for a large portion of the event, but the throttle failure sent him to retirement. He now depends on a combination of results out of his control to make the Chase in Puebla. Tovar, thirteenth with 171 points, was the farthest from the cutoff. He finished sixth and was the only one of the three to score important points, closing the gap to the qualifying zone and arriving at the final round with real chances to fight for one of the last spots. Xavi Razo, who had won at Querétaro, finished fifth and inserted himself fully into the battle for a postseason berth.

Photo By Nascar México Series

Emiliano Richards won in the Challenge category and extended his lead at the top of the championship. He arrived at San Luis Potosí as the leader with a comfortable margin over Víctor Barrales Jr., who remained his main pursuer after winning the season opener at the same oval. Mateo Girón, the third title contender, started from pole and needed a victory to put himself back in the fight, but an accident took him out while leading. His retirement paved the way for Richards, who once again drove with a cool head, avoided trouble, capitalized on others' incidents, and added another victory that solidifies him as the driver to beat in the final stretch. Barrales Jr. finished second and Koke de la Parra third, both with solid performances that keep them within striking distance of Richards heading into the final round at Puebla.

The 2026 NASCAR México season has seen six different winners in seven rounds, with Rubén García Jr. as the only repeat winner at the start of the year. The final round of the regular season, at Puebla on August 22 and 23, will decide the spots still up for grabs, with several drivers separated by just a handful of points. In Challenge, Richards arrives as the leader, but Barrales and De la Parra have the points to fight for the title in the last round.

Nascar México - San Luis Potosí

Pos	Nº	driver	team	class	time
1	#23	Max Gutiérrez	Canel´s- Logitech- Laboratorios Tequis	NM	-
2	#88	Rubén García Jr	Canel´s- Logitech- Mobil- Laboratorios Tequis	NM	+0.450s
3	#46	Irwin Vences	Escuderia Gt- Sacura- Toyopower- JV Motorsports	NM	+0.484s
4	#95	Rodrigo Rejón	ProRally Mothers- GGG	NM	+0.891s
5	#7	Xavi Razo	Motorcraft	NM	+1.097s
6	#22	Santiago Tovar	Quaker State-Anvi Motorsport	NM	+1.534s
7	#9	Eloy Falcón	Volaris- Aldo Conti	NM	+2.022s
8	#20	Emiliano Richards (N)	Escuderia GT- Trobbu- JV Motorsports	CH	+2.301s
9	#39	Víctor Barrales	Anvi Motorsport	CH	+2.456s
10	#29	Koke De la Parra	Prime Sports	CH	+2.504s
11	#75	Giancarlo Vecchi	Restonic	CH	+2.704s
12	#28	Rubén Rovelo	Alessandros Racing	NM	+2.882s
13	#55	Julio Rejón	GGG Racing Team- NS- JV Motorsports	NM	+2.945s
14	#14	Alex de Alba	Aga de Manzana- Red Cola	NM	+3.153s
15	#13	Regina Sirvent	Kotex- Volaris	CH	+3.540s
16	#26	Eliud Treviño	Alessandros Racing	CH	+3.872s
17	#48	Chispa Rodríguez (N)	Alessandros Racing	CH	+3.952s
18	#54	Omar Jurado	Alessandros Racing	NM	+4.227s
19	#77	Majo Rodríguez (N)	Car Motion	CH	+5.751s
20	#2	Abraham Calderón	Aurora- Rukus- Telcel	NM	2 vueltas
21	#69	Germán Quiroga	Prime Sports- Car Motion	NM	7 vueltas
22	#0	Rafael Vallina	Coca Cola Zero- Salsa la Perrona- Chihuahua Capita	CH	7 vueltas
23	#52	Santos Zanella Jr	Z Motors- Autoforum- Monzani- Omoda	CH	11 vueltas
24	#19	Diego Ortíz	XIX Motorsports	CH	18 vueltas
25	#44	Santos Zanella Sr	Z Motors- Autoforum- Monzani- Omoda	CH	37 vueltas
26	#05	Mateo Girón (N)	Alessandros Racing	CH	41 vueltas
27	#62	Gustavo Barrales	Laboratorios Tequis- Seguros El Potosí- ANVI	CH	51 vueltas
28	#27	Helio Meza (N)	Alessandros Racing	NM	56 vueltas
29	#08	José Luis Ramírez	Disolvin- Vomisin - Nenuco	NM	119 vueltas
30	#67	Andrik Dimayuga	Dimayuga Racing	CH	127 vueltas
31	#51	Jake Cosío	Control Plag- Chick In- Ana Seguros- En Ti- JBL- A	NM	165 vueltas