Chicago, IL.- When you think NASCAR, sombreros and Mexican flags probably aren’t the first images that come to mind. But on June 12th of 2022, Daniel Suarez, a native of Monterrey, Mexico, became the first Mexican-born driver to win a Cup Series race by winning at Sonoma Raceway. “It was great,” said Suarez. “It was a moment that I will never forget. Not just for the race and the win but for everything else around it.”
“And the win was in California, which is a place I hold very close to my heart.”
NASCAR: Drive for Diversity program
Suarez is among a new group of drivers from the NASCAR: Drive for Diversity program, where minority and women drivers are trained to drive or work in the pit crew with the goal of eventually officially driving for NASCAR. “The Drive for Diversity program helped me a lot in my early career to be able to learn about the sport and learn about the culture, really just everything,” explained Suarez. “If it wasn’t for Drive for Diversity, I wouldn’t have been able to make it.”
It’s been almost a year since Suarez won the Cup Series race. And he feels that although it was not solely because of that win, but a collection of the hard work of many people, that Latino presence at events has skyrocketed and will continue to trend that way in the future. “Something that I experienced early in my career was that there were not many Mexicans in the Grandstands and for sure there were not any Mexican flags,” explained Suarez. “And now there are Mexican fans and people wearing sombreros and waving Mexican flags and that makes me so happy. If you go to a boxing match or UFC, I think that Latinos are very passionate. You see it in soccer as well, so it will be amazing for me to be able to see some of that in NASCAR. I feel that we are moving in that direction.”
As he is the face of NASCAR for Latinos today, Suarez proudly takes on that duty so that he can help those that were in his place when he showed interest in a sport that did not have many people that looked like him. “Many people told me that it was going to be very difficult for a Mexican driver to make it long term in the Cup Series, and I don’t think anyone is saying that anymore which is good,” said Suarez. “It tells you that the way that many people in Mexico and in the US are seeing the sport is different. It’s been work that many people have been involved with to move the needle. I feel very proud to be a small part of it.”
As for his upcoming trip to Chicago, this is the first time that NASCAR will be taking over downtown to host two days of street races. He is very confident that his Trackhouse Racing Team will do just fine in the Windy City. “I’m very excited, exclaimed Suarez. “I think that it’s something different and I don’t think many drivers in NASCAR have a lot of experience in street cars. I think everyone is going to be at a similar starting point when it comes to experiences in street courses. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun and I think my team is going to be very strong and we can fight for the win.”
For more information or to purchase tickets for the NASCAR Chicago Street Race weekend visit, https://www.nascarchicago.com/
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