Kyle Busch suffers massive blow and Cup Series rivals take advantage

Kyle Busch's Cup Series playoff hopes took a huge dent in Mexico City on Sunday, with his NASCAR rivals taking full advantage.

The start of the 100-lap race was somewhat chaotic at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, with rain falling and drivers struggling to stay in control of their vehicles as a result.

Unfortunately for Busch, he was one of those drivers, causing a wreck on lap seven after making a braking error into turn one. The incident caught up six of the field, but crucially, the damage that the No. 8 sustained meant that Busch was forced to retire.

Officially classified 37th, the lack of points collected in Mexico has had a major impact on the two-time champion's playoff bid, with Busch falling below the cut-off line by 50 points as the drivers around him profited from his error.

Chris Buescher, for example, who sits 16th and just above the bubble, scored a solid P10 in Mexico City, also collecting stage points along the way, whilst it was a similar story with Alex Bowman (15th), who finished third in stage two and fourth overall.

Even outside of the current playoff 16, Busch was overtaken, with Michael McDowell (18th) and AJ Allmendinger (19th) leapfrogging the two-time champion with their P5 and P13 finishes.

Coming out of Mexico City, 10 drivers are now locked into the 2025 playoffs, with Shane van Gisbergen the latest driver to add his name to that list following his victory on Sunday, despite sitting 30th in the regular season standings.

NASCAR playoff standings after Mexico City

Here is how the battle for the 2025 Cup Series playoffs looks following Sunday's race in Mexico City.

NASCAR Cup Series winners in 2025

Here is a full list of the NASCAR Cup Series schedule so far, with each race winner listed accordingly.

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