Daniel Suárez and Andrés Pérez de Lara are set to compete in the upcoming NASCAR Mexico City race weekend, marking a significant event in their home country. Suárez will race in both the Cup Series and Xfinity Series, while Pérez will make his Xfinity debut driving for DGM Racing, highlighting this weekend as an important milestone for Mexican motorsports and the broader Latin American racing community.
The Significance of the Mexico City NASCAR Event for Local Talent
The NASCAR weekend in Mexico City holds great importance for stock car racers across Mexico, Central, and South America, many of whom dream of qualifying for one of the weekend’s two races. Despite Suárez’s wishes that Cup Series drivers wouldn’t compete in the Xfinity race, NASCAR allows them, including his own participation for JR Motorsports. However, international provisional spots have been introduced in the Xfinity race to increase opportunities for drivers outside the U.S.
Suárez expressed mixed feelings about the competition lineup.
“It’s huge, it’s huge. Honestly, I’m very excited for Andrés, and I hope – I was wishing more drivers were going to join months ago before they announced Cup drivers were going to be allowed to race Xfinity Series,”
he said during an interview in Nashville.
“I was hoping that they were not going to allow Cup drivers. So, they need more opportunities for the drivers from Mexico to get the rides like mine, like the one that I got. But really, that wasn’t the case, and that’s fine.”
He elaborated on the challenges for emerging Mexican and Latin American drivers.
“It’s just that, I feel like a lot of rides are already taken, right? And teams obviously, they’re gonna prefer to have me or somebody like Ty Gibbs or Christopher Bell than an unknown guy from Mexico or from Argentina or from Brazil. So, yeah, I think it’s going to be a lot of fun and a great opportunity for whoever is able to get a ride.”
—Daniel Suárez, NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series driver
Suárez’s Journey Back to Mexico with NASCAR Success
The Mexico City NASCAR weekend represents a heartfelt return for Daniel Suárez, who spent years racing in Mexico before moving to the United States to pursue his NASCAR ambitions. Now an American citizen, multi-race winner in the Cup Series, and former Xfinity Series champion, Suárez’s story is one of perseverance and success across borders.
The event shines a spotlight on the growing pool of talented drivers from Central and South America aiming to follow in Suárez’s footsteps. Andrés Pérez de Lara, the ARCA Series champion and a full-time Truck Series driver at just 20 years old, will join Suárez in competing on home soil. Their presence underscores the rising prominence of Mexican drivers on NASCAR’s stages.
Advocating for More Opportunities for International Competitors
Suárez is hopeful that future editions of the Mexico City race weekend will foster greater chances for international drivers by possibly excluding Cup Series participants from the Xfinity event. This would open doors for more racers from Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, and other countries in the region to compete with competitive equipment and gain exposure in premier NASCAR events.
Having competed last year in the NASCAR Brazil series, Suárez recognizes the high skill level among international drivers, which makes additional opportunities all the more crucial for expanding the sport’s diversity and talent pool.
The Mexico City NASCAR weekend thus stands as a pivotal platform, not just for Suárez’s homecoming and Pérez’s debut, but also for enhancing the future of Latin American participation in NASCAR. Increased involvement from local and regional drivers could transform the event into a key development ground for the sport across the Americas.
