Suarez held off a stern challenge from Chris Buescher on a restart with 22 of 100 laps remaining and cruised to a 3.849-second win Sunday at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, earning his first career win.
“I (expletive) love you guys,” Suarez screamed over his team radio as he took the checkered flag.
With the victory, Suarez, 30, becomes the first native Mexican driver to win a Cup Series race.
“It’s crazy day. I have so many thoughts in my head right now. I mean, it’s been a rough road,” Suarez said after climbing from his No. 99 Chevrolet. “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 in this point. I lot of people in Mexico: Jay Morales, Carlos Slim. My family, they never give up on me. A lot of people did, but they didn’t.
“Just very happy we were able to make it work.”
Asked what it was about Trackhouse Racing that made such a good fit for him in the Cup Series, Suarez said, “Their energy. They believe in me since day one. They believe in me. All the people, all the resources to make it happen.’
Suarez – who debuted in NASCAR competition in his native Mexico in 2009 – became the first Mexican-born driver to win a NASCAR national series race in 2016 with his Xfinity Series victory at Michigan. He was among the first success stories to come out of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program.
Suarez went on to win the 2016 Xfinity championship and moved to the Cup Series fulltime for the first time in 2017 with Joe Gibbs Racing.
Suarez joins Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain in the 2022 Cup Series playoffs. Chastain had already won twice this season.
“Daniel Suarez and (crew chief) Travis Mack helped build Trackhouse,” said team co-owner Justin Marks. They’ve been working so hard together. They’ve been so focused, so dedicated trying to get to Victory Lane.
“The No. 1 car (Chastain) winning two races this year was tough…
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