Why his first Cup win is not the race Daniel Suarez is most proud of

Clearly, Suarez’s victory at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway last summer – his first in the series in 195 career starts at the time – was a huge accomplishment. He also became the first native Mexican driver to win a series race.

But in terms of which race in 2002 may have illustrated he and his No. 99 Trackhouse’s development as contenders, Suarez points to last fall’s race at the Charlotte Roval.

Suarez, 30, was poised to advance to the Round of 8 in the series playoffs with a solid finish and by the third stage, he basically needed to finish in the Top 25 in the race to have enough points to advance.

However, late in the race, Suarez lost the power steering in his car, something that’s never good but especially difficult on a road course and particularly in the Next Gen car.

Determined to stay on the track, Suarez muscled his way through the pain to the end, getting only one break during a scheduled pit stop. Suarez finished 36th, five laps down, and missed the cut to advance by nine points.

“I think that was probably one of my highlights of the year along with the win. That race was tough. As a team, we did everything, actually, to win,” he said. “I don’t think there is one person out there in this industry that will say we didn’t deserve to transfer to the next (playoff) round.

“We were sitting in the perfect position to do so. When then happened, everything went backwards. I went into Stage 3 with my team telling me I just had to finish inside the Top 25, which on a road course was a piece of cake for us.

“After (losing power steering), I was fighting for my life. It was tough. At the end of the day, you know, I left the track knowing 100-percent I gave everything I got. I didn’t have any energy left. That was the most important thing for me. We have to learn from those lessons and continue to do better. No excuses. We have to do a better job.”

Suarez said the experience “definitely” showed something to his team but also to himself.

“That race, in my opinion, showed my entire team that we are there to fight and regardless of how difficult the road may be, we have to continue to fight and give everything that we have,” he said. “That’s part of racing.

“It’s why we love the sport so much because it’s not easy when you have the best car and it’s not easy when…