ARCA Graduate of the Week: Daniel Suarez makes history with Cup win at Sonoma Raceway

History was made Sunday when Daniel Suarez became the first driver of Mexican descent to win in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Suarez, 30 years old from Monterrey, Mexico, gave team owner – and fellow ARCA Menards Series platform graduate – Justin Marks his third win as a NASCAR Cup Series owner in 2022 and positioned himself strongly to join the NASCAR Playoffs.

Suarez is no stranger to making NASCAR history.

He was the second Mexican-born driver to win in what is now the ARCA Menards Series East, joining Rogelio Lopez, and set the record for the best finish in the series standings by a Mexican driver when he finished third in 2013. Suarez scored wins at Columbus Motor Speedway in 2013,  and at New Smyrna Speedway and then again a few days later on the short track built on the backstretch at Daytona International Speedway as part of the Battle at the Beach in 2014.

More history was made in 2016 when Suarez won for the first time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Michigan International Speedway, outdueling his then-teammate Kyle Busch on the final lap to win by a fender. Suarez also won at Dover and then swept the pole and the win in the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to lock down the Xfinity Series championship, becoming the first Mexican driver to win an Xfinity race and championship and doing it both in the same season.

Suarez also won in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2016, taking the win in the penultimate race of the season at Phoenix Raceway. From there, Suarez moved into the Cup Series.

His tenure at Joe Gibbs Racing had some success, including his first top-five finish – a third place at Watkins Glen International – in his rookie season. His first pole came at Pocono Raceway in 2018, and followed it up with his best career finish, second.

He moved to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2019and notched a pair of third-place finishes at Texas Motor Speedway as his best.

In 2021, he moved to Trackhouse Racing and collected his first top-five result on the dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway. He had already notched a pair of top-fives in 2022, a pair of fourth-place finishes at California Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway before his breakthrough victory at Sonoma Raceway.

Suarez was guided to victory by crew chief Travis Mack, who also has deep roots in the ARCA Menards Series. Mack started his career working for team owner Bill Kimmel in the Kimmel Racing shops in Clarksville, Indiana. Combined with Mack’s guidance on the pit box was his second set of eyes, spotter Frank Kimmel II, former ARCA Menards Series driver and son of ten-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel.