It took until 2017 for NASCAR to have a Mexican driver driving full-time in the Cup Series. That driver, Daniel Suarez, just happens to be really, really good.
Daniel Suarez, 25, became the first Mexican driver to compete full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series when it was announced that he would take over the driving duties of the #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota following the unexpected retirement announcement of Carl Edwards.
While it did take until the 69th season of Cup Series competition for a Mexican driver to take on this full-time role, Suarez, the 2016 Xfinity Series champion, is proving that he can compete with the best of them in NASCAR’s top series.
Suarez’s start to his rookie season in the Cup Series was a bit rocky, as it took him four races to finish a race higher than 20th place. But after that, he had a stint of 11 races during which he finished lower than 19th place just once and racked up four top 7 finishes, with three 7th place efforts and an at-the-time career-high 6th place effort at Dover.
The first half of this season did not treat Joe Gibbs Racing well at all, as the team’s four drivers totaled zero victories in the first 18 races of the season. It took until the first race past the halfway mark of the season until one of the team’s four drivers actually won a race, with Denny Hamlin taking the checkered flag at New Hampshire.
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But once Joe Gibbs Racing as a whole started rolling with that win by Hamlin at New Hampshire, Suarez started rolling as well, and neither he nor the team have looked back since. Suarez tied his career-high finish of 6th place in that New Hampshire race, and he followed it up with two 7th place finishes at Indianapolis and Pocono, respectively, with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch winning at Pocono.
At Watkins Glen this past weekend, Suarez finished in 3rd place for his first career podium finish in the Cup Series, and he took the lead in the Rookie of the Year standings in doing so after winning his first career stage.
While he is still a ways out of the current playoff field on points, he is looking more and more like a contender for a race victory each and every race, so he very well could end up in the playoffs in his rookie season, as there are still four races remaining in the regular season for him to potentially win.
In the first two races of this season (and of Suarez’s Cup Series career) alone, he finished outside the top 20 in both. In the 20 races since, he has only finished outside the top 20 twice, and he is currently the only driver on a streak of four consecutive top 7 finishes.
It is safe to say that Suarez is coming into his own in his rookie season in the Cup Series, and he appears to be only getting better. The fact that his team is on a roll bodes well for him as well as he continues his hunt for his first career Cup Series victory in his rookie season.
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