NASCAR
Daniel Suarez Brings Home Maiden Cup Series Victory at Sonoma
SONOMA, Calif. – It was a banner day for Daniel Suarez in Sonoma, as he led a race-high 47 laps, taking home his first victory. Coming in his 195th Cup Series start, this win comes after oh so many close ones escaped the Mexican driver’s grasp. Suarez is now the 12th different winner in 2022, as well as the fourth new winner in the Cup Series. Both cars from Trackhouse Racing are also now locked into this year’s Playoffs.
From the start, strategy was key to deciding the winner of this race. While almost everyone else chose to short-pit Stage 1, polesitter Kyle Larson did not. This led to the 5 taking his third-straight Sonoma Stage win, but also being buried in the field for Stage 2.
Larson’s teammate Chase Elliott was the dominant car in Stage 2, only for him to short pit. This handed the Stage win to Joey Logano, as the 9’s day got a lot tougher after this critical pit stop. Elliott tried leaving his pit stall before his left side tires were fully tight. Thinking quickly, his crew called him back into the stall, but Elliott did not fully back up into his box. This resulted in a tail of the field penalty on the 9 for the start of Stage 3, all but ending his shot at the win.
Pit road woes for @chaseelliott and the No. 9 team. pic.twitter.com/5pxKK3pYEh
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 12, 2022
Another major penalty was initially assessed on this same pit cycle but then recalled. For all of Stage 2, Elliott was hotly pursued by the 17 of Chris Buescher. On his pit stop, the 17 crew was originally nabbed for throwing a fuel can, only for video evidence to later disprove this claim. As a result, NASCAR rescinded their penalty, and Buescher restarted the final Stage as the leader.
On the restart, Daniel Suarez quickly took the lead and never looked back. While Buescher was close to the 99’s bumper for awhile, Suarez eventually drove off.
Only one more caution would fly all race, when Kyle Larson lost a wheel in turn two. On this restart Suarez again held serve, but the 99 could not shake the 17 at first. Over the closing laps however, Suarez’s car came to life. Initially a few tenths faster than Buescher, Suarez quickly became seconds faster per lap. By the checkered flag, Suarez had built up a lead of almost four seconds. The 30-year-old cruised to his first NASCAR Cup Series victory.
“It’s a crazy day,” Suarez exclaimed finally as a NASCAR Cup winner. “I have so many thoughts in my head right now. I mean, it’s been a rough road. It’s been a rough journey in the Cup Series.”
“These guys believe in me, Trackhouse Racing, Justin Marks, Ty Norris. Everyone that helped me to get in this point. I lot of people in Mexico: Jay Morales, Carlos Slim. My family, they never give up on me. A lot of people did, but they didn’t. Just very happy we were able to make it work.”
“(Trackhouse Racing) believed in me since day one. They believe in me. All the people, all the resources to make it happen.” With both the 1 and 99 now visiting victory lane, they will each run for a championship this fall.
Daniel Suarez becomes the first Mexico native to win a Cup race, and only the fifth foreign-born driver. He joins Mario Andretti, Earl Ross, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Marcos Ambrose in this exclusive club.
Behind Suarez and Buescher, veteran road course racer Michael McDowell beat Kevin Harvick and Austin Cindric to the line. Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Brad Keselowski were the top-10 finishers.
With 12 winners through 16 weeks of 2022, only four Playoff spots remain open. 10 weeks are still left in the regular season, as the points battle tightens. After an off week, the race to the Playoffs will roar on at Nashville Superspeedway. The second-annual Ally 400 will go green June 26 at 5:00 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Sean Gardner/Getty Images for NASCAR
