Daniel Suarez’s victory in Sunday’s Save Mart 350 NASCAR Cup Series on the Sonoma Raceway road course north of San Francisco was an epic win for a driver who’d been on the brink seemingly for years. Becoming the first Mexican-born racer to earn a Cup Series victory in his 195th career start, Suarez brought a third win to Trackhouse Racing’s Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 squad, after teammate Ross Chastain already secured two victories thus far in the season.
Suarez led all but three laps in the final, third stage of the race, held under clear and moderate skies at this wine-country-adjacent racetrack. By being first to the checkered flags, he earned his spot in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series playoff field of 16 racers who can vie for the season-long championship. Racing the No. 99 Onx Homes/Renu Camaro to Victory Lane, “It’s a crazy day. I have so many thoughts in my head right now,” he exclaimed. “I mean, it’s been a rough road. It’s been a rough journey in the Cup Series. These guys believe in me – Trackhouse Racing, Justin Marks, Ty Norris. Everyone that helped me to get to this point.”
He gave credit to the folks at home in Mexico who helped him along the way, like Jay Morales, Carlos Slim and his family – who never gave up on him, even when others did. Suarez started the race in eighth place and earned a top-five result in the second stage, giving him track position for the restart. Strong work by the Trackhouse Racing pit crew gave the 30-year-old an opportunity at the start or the third stage that he took advantage of, leading a race-high 47 laps as he swept to the win on this 1.99-mile circuit.
As he took control of the race, Suarez put his mind to turning laps and “just trying to do my race, trying to control what I can control.” While he knew runner-up Chris Buescher’s Ford “was very strong in the short run, probably a little bit better than me, but in the middle part of the run, I was better than him. In the long run,” the winner noted, “I felt like I was better than him. I was able to play out pretty good right there near the end,” he said.
Daniel Suarez came to the United States to race a decade before this first Cup Series victory. “I come from a very humble family; every step of my life has cost me a lot,” he noted. “I wasn’t going to give up; my confidence was high. But obviously knowing that you haven’t won yet, there is a little bit of doubt. I knew that I was fast. I knew that I could race with them, with the guys that are winning. But haven’t showed that [before my] first victory.”
Trackhouse Racing has been fast all season, as evidenced by the No. 1 of Chastain earning a pair of tough Cup Series wins (he finished seventh on Sunday in Sonoma) that has him second in the series standings. Wins at Circuit on the Americas’ road course and on the Talladega Superspeedway oval shows the preparation of Trackhouse Racing is matching that of some of the more established Cup Series teams.
Suarez is one of the earliest graduates of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program. “If it wasn’t for the Drive for Diversity, I don’t think I would be here right now,” he acknowledged. The driver gave credit to one of his race engineers, Jose Velasco, also from Mexico, who he said was a huge part of the team. They’ve been working together for two years. “Part of my pit crew are from diversity as well.”
He reminisced, “Back in 2013 and ’14, they saved my butt,” he said of the program that is an outreach for Blacks, Latinos, women and other minorities. “I was about to come back to Mexico. They gave me an opportunity to keep racing in 2013. That kept me alive. It’s been quite a journey, but those tough moments and those ups and downs is what makes this moment so special.”
Suarez’s win gave NASCAR added editorial attention, drawing attention to the Cup Series that it might not ordinarily receive with one of the usual and customary winners in Victory Lane. With the Cup Series taking a much-needed weekend off, Daniel Suarez and Trackhouse Racing gain the advantage of having two weeks to celebrate.
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