Daniel Suarez just accomplished a lifelong dream. He won a national NASCAR series race in his home country of Mexico after going from last place to first place.
Suarez became the first driver in NASCAR history to go from last to first on a road course, and he scored his first Xfinity win since the 2016 season finale that sealed his Xfinity Series championship.
DANIEL SUÁREZ WINS IN MEXICO CITY! 🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/UgfLoKVgyw
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) June 14, 2025
Suarez's day at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez started with major issues. He crashed hard into the barrier in Turn 11 during qualifying and destroyed the primary car. This forced the team to bring out the backup, which they used last season on the streets of Chicago.
Suarez started the race in last place, but he did not stay there. He worked his way up to 16th in the opening stage and then he gained more track position with some strategy plays throughout the race.
The Monterrey native put himself inside the top five for the start of the final stage, and then he capitalized with his biggest move of the race.
A chaotic restart led to a massive crash that collected the best cars in the field -- the No. 88 and No. 19 -- as well as several others. Suarez sustained some damage while banging doors with Ty Gibbs, but he bounced from the second row to first place.
Once the track was clear of wrecked cars, Suarez lined up as the control car with Christian Eckes in second place. He cleared for the lead on the restart and then built up a lead of more than two seconds over Eckes.
Although this lead evaporated after Taylor Gray moved into second place and then Jesse Love brought out the caution by spinning in the blind Turn 15.
The final restart featured Gray and Suarez on the front row. They had a four-lap shootout to the checkered flag. Gray challenged early, which led to contact that sent Suarez through the grass in Turns 2 and 3. However, he never could make the pass on the No. 9 Chevrolet.
Suarez held off Gray's final charge, which included a bump in the final turn, and he captured the fourth Xfinity Series win of his career. Gray left Mexico City with a runner-up finish and a solid points day that put him above the playoff cutline.
🌮👊@Daniel_SuarezG | @NASCARMexico_ pic.twitter.com/08t1NplRcd
— Xfinity Racing (@XfinityRacing) June 14, 2025
Yet, Suarez was not yet done after leading 19 laps and taking the checkered flag. This is his home country, after all.
He made several stops on his cooldown lap so that he could do burnouts in front of the assembled fans. He then celebrated in the unique stadium section of the road course by ripping a pinata apart.
"It's everything about teammwork," Suarez told CW Sports' Dillon Welch. "These guys worked extremely hard to get this car ready, and I wasn't supposed to be a winner today. And look at where we are right now."