Daniel Suarez wins Xfinity race at Mexico City but can he delight fans in Cup?
MEXICO CITY — Daniel Suarez stood outside the infield medical center Saturday morning and declared: "I'm going to put on a show for you guys."
He sure did. And he hopes to put on one more Sunday afternoon to delight the fans of his home country even more than he did Saturday, if that is even possible.
Suarez, the only Mexican driver to win a Cup Series race, rallied from the rear of the field by winning the Xfinity Series event in a backup car at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
The Mexican fans waved flags. They chanted Suarez's name. They held signs that said "Vamos Suarez."
"I have never experienced what I experienced today," said Suarez, the 2016 champion of the series, NASCAR's version of a triple-A baseball. "When I took the lead, I was able to hear people like they were right next to me. ... It was unbelievable.
"I got goosebumps. I felt so blessed. I never had that feeling in my life. And then I had to tell myself, 'Daniel, don't get distracted.'"
The 33-year-old Suarez won't get much time to celebrate. He starts 10th in the NASCAR Cup Series event Sunday, the first Cup points race outside the United States in 67 years.
Starting 10th in the Cup race for Trackhouse Racing will be much better than what Suarez had to face on Saturday, after he wrecked in Xfinity qualifying, which required JR Motorsports to pull out a backup car.
"Right now, I feel like this gives me a lot of confidence," Suarez said. "When I crashed in Xfinity qualifying, I went into Cup qualifying a little bit down.
"I was good, but I was not 100 percent because I just crashed. ... But the feeling I had in my [Cup] car in qualifying, I was very happy with it. I think my car was capable of winning the pole position."
When watching the team prepare the Xfinity backup, Suarez appeared confident and relaxed, taking selfies with fans as he walked to driver introductions and addressing the crowd.
It has already been a busy five days for Suarez, who made several appearances in the city promoting the race with a trail of media and a documentary crew following just about every move.
All for a driver who is on a 49-race winless streak in Cup. His last win came in the second race of the 2024 season at Atlanta. And he sits 28th in the standings.
"I'll go out there tomorrow and have fun and enjoy it," Suarez said. "That's what I did today. Today, I just enjoyed the moment.
"My goal wasn't to win the race. My goal was to maximize the potential of the race car."
Trying to maximize the potential hasn't been easy on the Cup side this week.
His race team had travel issues Thursday and he operated with a skeleton crew for practice Friday as NASCAR put Cup cars on the 2.42-mile 15-turn road course for the first time. The rest of his crew made it on Saturday, with his engineers just about a half-hour before qualifying.
"I love adversity," Suarez said Friday. "I love it. You put me against the wall, I'm going to come at you swinging. And our team is the same way. ... This is just going to be a better story when we win on Sunday."
Suarez faces incredible pressure in Mexico City, as he is fighting to keep his ride at Trackhouse Racing with up-and-comer Connor Zilisch running well enough in Xfinity to potentially be elevated to Cup.
Zilisch, also driving for JR Motorsports, dominated the race until a restart with 19 laps remaining when he entered the first turn on the inside of a three-wide situation with Ty Gibbs in the middle and Suarez trying to make a move on the outside.
Zilisch slammed into Gibbs, who hit Suarez, but Suarez was able to survive and take the lead, never relinquishing it the rest of the way. Zilisch took the blame for the accident.
It wasn't totally easy the rest of the way for Suarez. On the final lap, Taylor Gray, battling Suarez for the lead, forced him off the course. Gray checked up to allow Suarez to gather his car and Suarez retained the lead. Gray gave him another tap late in the final lap and Suarez crossed the finish line to huge cheers.
He will get more cheers on Sunday.
"This race was very special," Suarez said. "I know it's Xfinity. The big one is tomorrow. But it is a very special race for me."
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
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