This past Sunday afternoon's NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway was only the second race of the 2025 season to feature no non-chartered (open) cars, and because all 36 chartered cars are driven by full-time drivers, it was also just the second race in Cup Series history to feature exclusively full-time drivers.
However, this Sunday afternoon's Viva Mexico 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, the first ever Cup Series race in Mexico, is set to feature an open car.
Live Fast Motorsports are the brave ones of the bunch, as they are heading south of the border to run the No. 78 Chevrolet for Katherine Legge for just the second time this year, and for just the first time since Legge's much-maligned series debut at Phoenix Raceway in March.
The No. 78 car has only made three other appearances this year, all with team co-owner B.J. McLeod behind the wheel. After failing to qualify for the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, he competed in the superspeedway races at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.
Denny Hamlin withdrawal marks second lineup change in Mexico
At the start of the week, it looked like the addition of Live Fast Motorsports would be the only entry list change from one week to the next ahead of Sunday's 100-lap race around the 15-turn, 2.429-mile (3.909-kilometer) road course in Mexico City, Mexico.
But because of how far Mexico is from his North Carolina home, Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin opted to remain in the United States.
Hamlin had been awaiting the birth of his third child with longtime partner Jordan Fish for the past two weeks, and though the baby arrived earlier this week, he felt it was best to stay back. Ryan Truex, who was only standby for Hamlin at Nashville Superspeedway and Michigan, is finally set to make his first Cup Series start since 2014.
Hamlin has not missed a Cup race since March 2014, and his absence marks the first absence for any full-time driver through the first 16 races of the 2025 season.
He has already received playoff waiver, keeping him eligible for the playoffs, and NASCAR did not strip him of any of the 18 playoff points he has earned so far this year, thanks to his three race wins and three stage wins, despite a controversial offseason rule change.
The Viva Mexico 250 is set to be shown live on Amazon Prime Video from Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, June 15.