Picture Marcos Ambrose, the Tasmanian hotshot who stormed NASCAR like a wildfire. A two-time V8 Supercars champ from Australia, he ditched the Outback for the American tracks in 2006, tearing up the Truck Series before landing in the Cup Series by 2009. His 2011 Watkins Glen victory was a game-changer, the first Aussie to snag a Cup win, outgunning the best on a twisty road course.
Then there’s Shane van Gisbergen, the Kiwi who turned the sport upside down in July 2023. A three-time Supercars king from New Zealand, he hopped into Trackhouse Racing’s No. 91 for the inaugural Chicago Street Race and pulled off the unthinkable by winning his Cup Series debut, a feat not seen since Johnny Rutherford in 1963.
Slicing through rain-soaked streets, he outran Chase Elliott and Justin Haley with ice-cold precision, stealing hearts and sparking cheers from fans who’d never heard his name before. That gritty, fearless drive showed NASCAR’s no longer just an American party, it’s a global brawl. But none of them were able to experience the joy that Daniel Suárez had after he hosted NASCAR in his home country in Mexico. While the win in the Xfinity Series race was special, the Trackhouse Racing star took more pride in acting as the bridge for two racing communities.
Suárez reflects on his Mexican roots
On Dirty Mo Media with Dale Jr., Daniel Suárez bared his soul about his path from Mexico to NASCAR glory. “When I left my country in the middle of 2011 most people in Mexico they were telling me that really wasn’t an option for a Mexican driver in the US and it was gonna be very difficult and all these different things like 80% of the comments were like Man don’t go, just stay here in NASCAR Mexico. Fast forward, later, you know ten years later twelve years later I was able to not just win races but win a championship and have success and then come back to Mexico. That part by itself is extremely special, it’s almost like a full circle,” Suárez said.
Suárez’s 2016 Xfinity Series championship was a game-changer, making him the first Mexican-born driver to claim a NASCAR national title. At 24, in just his second full season, he grabbed three wins at Michigan, Dover, and a commanding Homestead-Miami finale. He started on pole, led 133 of 200 laps, and clinched the crown with a Mexican flag-waving, expletive-laced celebration that screamed pure joy.
Since then, he’s gone on to win at Sonoma and Atlanta Motor Speedway, yet a step back into the Xfinity Series, during NASCAR’s trip to Mexico City, hit home for him. After a qualifying crash forced him into a backup JR Motorsports Chevy starting 39th, Suárez staged a jaw-dropping comeback. Methodically picking off cars, he capitalized on a wild final restart with 19 laps left, sparked by a Connor Zilisch-Ty Gibbs tangle.
“It’s just special to be a small part in all this process. You know, I love racing in the United States, I mean this my home now, and there is so many places, so many cities in the US that they make me feel like home. With that being said, it’s not where I was born, it’s not where I grew up. So, be able to bring the entire industry and everyone to my home, I feel like I was one of the host of the party. It was definitely a weekend that I will never forget,” the Mexican driver added.
NASCAR needed a face, a poster child to kick-start their international engine, and Suárez did just that during their trip down south of the border. And even JRM celebrated this special win with him.
JR Motorsports celebrates memorable Mexico race weekend
JRM won the first-ever Xfinity Series international race in the modern era. Let that sink in. While history will remember NASCAR’s future adventures, the weekend in Mexico is where they will look back at. And thanks to the team effort by JRM and Suárez’s gritty drive, they have cemented their name in history books. Team co-owner, Kelley Earnhardt Miller, raised a toast for the Mexican driver, empahsizing how special this moment was.
“This is kind of like a historical thing, right, to go to Mexico City and bring home a win with Daniel, who made his strides there in the Mexico Series and came here to the NASCAR Series. So, really a special win for Junior Motorsports,” Kelley stated. In response, the Trackhouse Racing driver added, “I got goosebumps because you guys were part of one of the most special weekends in my career. You guys know I have had a long journey to get here, to speak the language, to learn the culture.”
From humble beginnings in Mexico to racing against the top talents in American motorsports, Daniel Suárez has come a long way. And this journey will only inspire more drivers from diverse backgrounds to realize this dream and follow in the blueprint laid by NASCAR’s very own Amigo.
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