NASCAR
Daniel Suarez goes Worst to First in Xfinity Series Mexico City Return
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – Crashing late in Saturday morning qualifying, Daniel Suarez could not have been at a lower point. The JR Motorsports No. 9 team scrambled to prepare a backup car, only making the grid with 30 minutes to spare.
After the race’s two best contenders took each other out on a restart, Suarez saw light ahead and took command. The Monterrey native and past Xfinity Series champion held on to take what he called one of his biggest wins ever in front of his country’s crowd. The stands at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez were reeling at the sight of their home grown star celebrating big after The Chilango 150.
From the early laps, it was very evident that front row starters Connor Zilisch and Ty Gibbs were the two to beat. Zilisch earned his fifth career Xfinity Series pole in only his 18th start, while Gibbs was looking for road course win number five. Gibbs led for the majority of Stage 1, only to flip the stage and give this win to Carson Kvapil. The same strategy happened with Zilisch in Stage 2, these bonus points went to teammate Sammy Smith. Aside from an early Sam Mayer spin, both stages ran green the entire way.
The final stage’s restart saw what would be this race’s turning point. Suarez had rallied his way up to third after starting last. Zilisch forced his way three-wide with the Nos. 9 and 19 into turn one, sending the 88 around after curb-hopping. A total of 13 cars would be taken out in simultaneous accidents here in turns one and three, including Gibbs, Kvapil, and many other contenders. This exchange allowed Suarez to scoot off into the lead uncontested.
Despite one more late restart with four laps left, nobody had quite the pace to stay with Suarez. Taylor Gray gave the No. 9 a shot on the last corner, but even this couldn’t derail Suarez’s march to victory lane. Suarez became NASCAR’s first ever road course winner from starting last. The party soon began among the fans in Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez’s stadium section.
“It’s everything about teamwork,” Suarez said of his recovery drive. “These guys worked extremely hard to get this car ready, and it wasn’t supposed to be a winner today! But look at where we are right now. I can’t thank Quaker State, JR Motorsports, and all the others who worked very very hard for us to be here this afternoon enough. It’s been a very special day. I can’t wait to enjoy it for just a little bit and do it again tomorrow.”
“It’s very very special to be here, for all my people. All of them have supported me for many many years. They have loved me since my NASCAR Mexico days. Now finally with the big boys it feels good”
Behind the front duo, Austin Hill had his own rebound effort late to take third. The No. 21 was just ahead of Connor Zilisch and Christian Eckes. William Sawalich, Austin Green, Jeb Burton, Harrison Burton, and Sammy Smith rounded out the top-10.
Daniel Suarez will now try and sweep the Mexico City race weekend in Sunday’s Cup Series race. Meanwhile, Xfinity Series competitors will shift their focus to Pocono Raceway. The Explore the Pocono Mountains 250 goes green Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on The CW, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Sean Gardner/Getty Images
