RELATED: XFINITY Grid | Career highlights for Suarez
Daniel Suarez had been eyeing Dover International Speedway‘s Miles the Monster trophy for years.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver finally was able to take home the iconic monster hardware Sunday after his dominating XFINITY Series win at the “Monster Mile.”
“This little guy,” a beaming Suarez said after the race, gesturing to the trophy during his post-race winner’s press conference. “You know what? I’ve been trying really hard to get one of these guys because in the K&N Series, I used to see this guy and think that this was really cool and I wanted to have one of those for my house. And finally to get this guy and be able to bring it with me home is going to be very special.”
But for the 24-year-old driver hailing from Monterrey, Mexico, this trophy represents more than just another trip to Victory Lane: Suarez’s win came during Hispanic Heritage Month, which is celebrated annually from Sept. 15 – Oct. 15.
“This is something really cool,” Suarez said. “Honestly, I didn’t remember this until they asked me in Victory Lane so this is something really good, very special for me and for all the people that have been supporting me since I moved here to the U.S. almost five years ago.
“Having all of the support that I have had from Mexico and from here in the U.S. and all of Latin America has been super special. I really feel lucky to be in this position and to be able to represent all of them.”
His first XFINITY Series career win at Michigan International Speedway on June 11 earlier this season rewrote history books, as he became the first Mexican-born driver to win a national series race. Having come to the United States less than five years ago, Suarez needed to learn the English language first — which he calls one of his toughest challenges upon moving to America — and then focus on competing in the top tier of racing.
Imagine driving at speeds of more than 100 mph and not being completely fluent in the sport’s native language.
Talk about overcoming obstacles.
“Think about what he battled through,” team owner Joe Gibbs said post-race Sunday. “He’s racing go-karts in Mexico and fighting his way up through all the series down there. You know what that takes for a young guy to be able to go through all of that, get recognized and then have a chance to come up here? It’s a great story. … I think it’s great for our sport and we’re thrilled to be a part of that.”
This season has been a breakout year for the budding star and this Dover victory was another shining moment: His taming of Miles the Monster was a win for his country, his culture, his career — and the next generation of NASCAR drivers.
“He is one of the up and coming … young stars,” Gibbs said. “I think from a diversity standpoint, from a Hispanic standpoint too, I think it’s huge for our sport.”
Now, the young driver has a chance to compete for a championship, the first year of the XFINITY Series Chase. While many viewed fellow Joe Gibbs Racing driver Erik Jones as the JGR title favorite, Suarez quickly is proving his No. 19 team needs to be in the conversation.
“Something really good about my team is that we have a lot of chemistry,” Suarez said. “We don’t give up, we work really hard. When we have bad days, we work even harder. I really like my team because we are together — we win together and we’ve lost together. We just have a lot of communication.
“A couple months ago, we were having a lot of conversations because we needed to find more speed and we were working hard to try to make that speed happen. I’m just proud of my team, proud of how we’ve been performing the last few weeks and I think in the next month and a half, couple months is going to be better.”
But before that, he needs to figure out where to put his hard-fought monster trophy.
“Where I’m going to put it, I don’t know, but it will be something easy to figure it out,” Suarez said, smiling.
Wherever Miles ends up, Suarez better leave some room for more trophies — he likely will need it.