Skip to main content
Join Now
NASCAR Logo

Andres Perez de Lara to make NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Mexico City

JHby: Jonathan Howard05/29/25Jondean25
Andres Perez Xfinity Series Mexico City
Nigel Cook/News-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The 2024 ARCA Menards Series champion, Andres Perez de Lara, is making his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut in a big way. Perez will compete in the Mexico City race with DGM Racing in the No. 91 car.

This season for Spire Motorsports in the Truck Series, Andres Perez has done well. He is a rookie and still learning the Truck Series. His best performance came at Martinsville earlier this season, where he finished P7.

At only 20 years old, Andres Perez is still developing. He has competed in the NASCAR Mexico Series and is a champion of the NASCAR Mexico Challenge Series as well as the NASCAR Mikel’s Truck Series.

Now, Perez is headed to the Xfinity Series. He will do it in front of a home crowd as he returns to Mexico to race.

NASCAR has expanded the field for the Xfinity Series for the event due to the heightened interest in the Mexico City race. Instead of 38 cars, the field will have 40 entries for The Chilango 150. That could give Perez a better opportunity to make the race. Teams who take those P39 and P40 starting spots will forfeit any prize money, points, or other benefits.

Andres Perez is an interesting development driver. While he has 33 top 10 finishes in 41 starts in the ARCA Menards Series, he was unable to win a race during his time in the series. His two years in the series were dominated by Jesse Love and then William Sawalich.

The Truck Series has been a big learning curve. There have been highlights in the last two years as he has made that step up into the third tier of NASCAR.

Andres Perez de Lara returning to Mexico

It is a big deal for Mexico to host not just an Xfinity Series race, which it has done in the past, but to have the Cup Series come to the country as well. Mexico City has a long history of racing, and the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is ready to bring North America’s premier series to its facility.

The facility hosts F1 and Formula E races each year. Racing at the facility goes back to 1959. Motorsports in Mexico have had a large cultural impact on the country. Drivers like Andres Perez and Daniel Suárez, who have made the jump to the United States to race, will have huge fan support from the local crowd.

With an opportunity like this, Perez has a chance to not only impress those his home country but also show that at 20 years old, he has a bright future in the sport of NASCAR. NASCAR is also hoping that drivers like Suárez and Perez can help grow the sport internationally and give stock car racing a strong foothold in North America.

The DGM Racing No. 91 car isn’t the most competitive. However, it will be good enough for Andres Perez to make the race if he hits his marks in qualifying. If he makes the field, then it will be a big celebration in Mexico City. Perez is likely going to spend time in the Truck Series again next year, but starting in the Xfinity Series will only help him grow his brand and his skillset behind the wheel.