Xfinity: Daniel Suarez Gets Historic Win at Michigan
By Alex Herbst
It was a historic day for NASCAR, as the first Mexican-born driver was in victory lane with Daniel Suarez winning the Menards 250 at Michigan.
NASCAR has grown by leaps and bounds in terms of diversity in recent years. From Danica Patrick becoming the first woman to sit on pole for the Daytona 500, to Darrell Wallace Jr. winning multiple races in a season in the Camping World Truck Series, many firsts have been recorded in recent years. And another historic moment would happen at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday afternoon, as Daniel Suarez notched his first victory in the Xfinity Series.
Suarez, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, became the first Mexican-born driver to win in one of NASCAR’s nationally touring series by passing teammate Kyle Busch at the white flag. He would also be just the sixth foreign-born driver to win in the series history. Busch, who would finish second on the day, had dominated the race like many performances he has put in this year in the Xfinity Series, leading 88 of the 125 laps.
Paul Menard would come home third for Richard Childress Racing, and Erik Jones fourth in a home race while racing with a heavy heart following the passing of his father on Tuesday. JR Motorsports driver Elliott Sadler rounded out the top five. Not only would Daniel Suarez take an important victory to lock him into the Xfinity Series Chase, but he would also expand his points lead to eighteen over Elliott Sadler.
Here are the full results from the Menards 250 at Michigan:
- Daniel Suarez, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
- Kyle Busch, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
- Paul Menard, Chevy, Richard Childress Racing
- Erik Jones, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
- Elliott Sadler, Chevy, JR Motorsports
- Joey Logano, Ford, Team Penske
- Alex Bowman, Chevy, JR Motorsports
- Justin Allgaier, Chevy, JR Motorsports
- Darrell Wallace Jr., Ford, Roush-Fenway Racing
- Brandon Jones, Chevy, Richard Childress Racing
- Brennan Poole, Chevy, Chip Ganassi Racing
- Ryan Sieg, Chevy, RSS Racing
- Blake Koch, Chevy, Kaulig Racing
- Ryan Reed, Ford, Roush-Fenway Racing
- Ty Dillon, Chevy, Richard Childress Racing
- Ross Chastain, Chevy, JD Motorsports
- Garrett Smithley, Chevy, JD Motorsports
- Brendan Gaughan, Chevy, Richard Childress Racing
- Ryan Preece, Chevy, JD Motorsports
- JJ Yeley, Toyota, Tri-Star Motorsports
- Jeremy Clements, Chevy, Clements Racing
- Justin Marks, Chevy, Chip Ganassi Racing
- Ray Black Jr., Chevy, SS Green Light Racing
- Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, JGL Racing
- Joey Gase, Chevy, Means Racing
- Harrison Rhodes, Dodge, MBM Racing
- Martin Roy, Chevy, King Autosport
- J. Bell, Chevy, Obiaka Racing
- Mike Harmon, Dodge, Harmon Racing
- Todd Peck, Ford, Rick Ware Racing
- Derrike Cope, Chevy, DCR Racing
- Chris Cockrum, Chevy, Rick Ware Racing
- Jeff Green, Toyota, Tri-Star Motorsports
- J. McLeod, Ford, McLeod Motorsports
- Mario Gosselin, Chevy, King Autosport
- Morgan Shepherd, Chevy, Shepherd Racing Ventures
- John Jackson, Toyota, MBM Racing
- Josh Williams, Chevy, Means Racing
- Josh Wise, Chevy, RSS Racing
- Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, Tri-Star Motorsports
Related Story: NASCAR: Cup Series Michigan Schedule
The next race for the Xfinity Series come from the cornfields of Iowa, where they will be the NASCAR headliner of the weekend. Coverage of the American Ethanol E15 250 Presented by Enogen can be seen on Sunday, June 19 at 1:30 pm eastern live on FS1 and MRN Radio.