Daniel Suárez made NASCAR history Sunday at Sonoma Raceway, and he celebrated in spectacular fashion. Not only did Suárez win his first career NASCAR Cup Series race, but he also became the first Mexican-born driver to win at NASCAR’s highest level.
The No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet driver led a race-high of 47 laps during the 110-lap California road course race before taking the checkered flag in his 195th career start in the Cup Series. It was his third top-5 finish of the season and fifth top 10.
With the checkered flag, the 30-year-old driver from Monterrey, Mexico is the 12th different winner in the 2022 season and the fourth first-time victor. He’s also now the fifth Cup winner from outside the U.S., joining Mario Andretti (Italy), Juan Pablo Montoya (Colombia), Marcos Ambrose (Australia) and Earl Ross (Canada).
Here’s a look at his winning moment as he crossed the finish line:
WINNER. WINNER. WINNER. Retweet to congratulate @Daniel_SuarezG on his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory!@TeamTrackhouse | @pitbull pic.twitter.com/09mLkrifxt
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) June 12, 2022
And how it was called on FOX Deportes:
Here's the call of Suárez taking the checkered flag: pic.twitter.com/TDZq831sXF
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) June 12, 2022
“It has cost me a lot to get to this point,” Suárez said in his post-race press conference. “A lot of people doesn’t know that, but it has cost me a lot to get to this country, first 10 years ago, and to get to this point, fighting. I come from a very humble family. Every step of my life has cost me a lot. I knew that it’s important to remember that if I was able to come all the way here, I wasn’t going to give up here.”
Obviously, Suárez was overjoyed to finally break through and win his first Cup race, and he celebrated with his team, with homages to Mexico and, as is tradition at Sonoma, with a giant goblet of wine.
Here are his seven best celebratory moments from his Sonoma victory.