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February 5, 2024

NASCAR Mexico Series arrives on grand stage after weekend in Los Angeles


LOS ANGELES — On Saturday night, the NASCAR Mexico Series raced on American soil for the first time in its history.

Under the brightest lights in one of the United States’ most iconic, historic venues, Santiago Tovar, Andrés Peréz de Lara, Regina Sirvent and other stars of Mexican stock-car racing shined at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in the exhibition King Taco La Batalla en el Coliseo.

Daniel Suárez, driver of the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series, is unquestionably the highest-profile driver to emerge from the Mexico Series, entering his eighth full-time season at the sport’s highest level in Cup. The Monterrey, Mexico, native returned to his roots by competing with — and winning in — the Mexico Series again on Saturday night and emphasized how enormous an opportunity this platform was for him and today’s series regulars.

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“To have the NASCAR Mexico Series race the same day, the same weekend, with the same fans, the same event as the Cup Series in Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, I don’t really know if it gets any better than this,” said Suárez, a 10-time winner in the Mexico Series before transcending into American competition. “To me, this race for NASCAR Mexico is as important as winning the championship for the NASCAR Mexico Series. And you can ask this question to any driver that races full-time. It’s a big deal to race here.”

This year marked the third consecutive season NASCAR kicked off its campaign in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, bringing stock-car racing to the home of a city swelled with Hispanic pride less than 150 miles from the Mexican border. That natural bridge to the Mexican population opened the door for new fans to discover the sport — and allowed Suárez to better soak in the significance of winning in front of that crowd Saturday night.

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“Yeah, it’s super special,” Suárez said. “I knew a lot of fans were gonna stay on after the Cup race, and I wasn’t surprised. But when I got out of the car and I saw all the Daniel Suárez flags and 99 flags, it gave me goosebumps, you know? It gave me that happiness, that reason why I do this. You know, I do this because I love competing. I love racing. I love it so much.

“And you know, racing — this is something that happens in many sports — but racing, you lose way more races than when you win because you are competing against 40 drivers. Sometimes you have to be very tough mentally to be able to overcome so many different challenges. And when you are able to achieve the ultimate goal, which is winning that race, and you have a crowd, a fan base like that cheering you on — I mean, there were at least a handful of 1,000 people out there with Mexican flags and Daniel Suárez flags — is something that is very hard to describe and is very special.”

Sirvent, a member of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity for the Class of 2024, earned entry into Saturday’s festivities after winning the fan vote, opened exclusively to residents of Mexico. The 20-year-old grew up with her heart on rally racing as her grandfather, José Sirvent, won the Campeonato Mexicano de Rally — Mexican Rally Championship — back in 1974. But as she entered the racing world herself, NASCAR hit her radar as a teenager, just as Suárez cracked into the NASCAR Cup Series while Danica Patrick was in the midst of her stock-car career.

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“When I started getting into motorsports when I was 14, like into NASCAR, I was like I love Daniel Suárez — oh and I love Danica Patrick,” said Sirvent, who drove a pink No. 10 car sponsored by the popular Mexican band Grupo Firme. “I want to be like the combo of them because, I mean, I was like he’s Hispanic and she’s female, so I can be the combo of both of them. So I started understanding more about their history, and now I mean, I am still a fan, and hopefully, I will get to the level that got to at some point.”

Salvador de Alba is the defending champion of the NASCAR Mexico Series, earning his second title in the past three seasons. NASCAR leadership has been vocal in recent years about looking to expand the top levels of the sport internationally. As a two-time champion of the series, de Alba has witnessed that commitment firsthand. The Mexico Series was put on hiatus in 2016 but returned in 2017 — right when de Alba was entering the sport.

“I was 17 years old, so I’ve been there since the second time for NASCAR Mexico, and it’s been growing — everything, things like crowds, the cars on track,” de Alba said. “And for sure the support we’ve got from NASCAR and here in the US. Like people coming up, bigger (organizations) every year from international series. And everything is growing, getting bigger.”

De Alba is exploring open-wheel racing in the United States this season but still plans a full season in the NASCAR Mexico Series.

“As long as I can race in Mexico, for sure I want to keep up with the NASCAR Mexico (growth) and I want to race as many races as I can to to get in the playoffs,” de Alba said.

What’s critical to note is exposure not only to new fans who may find enjoyment is viewing the series but those who enjoy working on the vehicles themselves. José Blasco served as crew chief for Suárez’s entry in the Mexico Series in Los Angeles and regularly works as an engineer for Trackhouse Racing. With drivers often the focus of fans’ eyes, opportunities in the garage area may be more hidden.

“It’s difficult for a series like NASCAR Mexico to showcase what they can do because not that many people follow it in the US, right?” Blasco said. “So the opportunity for them is to show up with their cars. You can show your craftsmanship, right? That’s what they’re showing. It’s very difficult to see what they do because you see on track the cars, right? You see a good car, but also okay, you see the drivers of the car, right? So when you see that, I hope they think about it and say, ‘OK, that’s a good car and a good driver. Who’s building that car?’ And when they’re pushing the cars, you can see how well they’re built right, and then you can see some others are not that well. So you pay attention to that. So hopefully, the other guys will notice.”

Some drivers, meanwhile, are already getting noticed. Peréz de Lara just concluded his first full-time season in the ARCA Menards Series with a runner-up finish in the championship standings while Max Gutiérrez has made five NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts, proving Suárez isn’t alone in his American breakthrough any longer.

What was evident Saturday night was a passion for racing within the Hispanic community. From the garage behind West Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to the asphalt centered inside the Coliseum to the fans adoring from the grandstands, all that mattered was the joy of stock-car competition — all with no borders.

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