HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) — El campeon!
Daniel Suarez won the Xfinity Series season finale and title at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, becoming the first foreign champion in a NASCAR national series.
The 24-year-old Mexican bested fellow championship contenders Elliott Sadler, Justin Allgaier and Erik Jones on a botched restart with three laps to go.
“It’s very hard to put into words,” Suarez said. “I’m speechless right now. I’m just very proud of everyone and thankful to have the family that I have, my mom, my dad. They gave me all the tools to be here right now. They put me in a car even when we didn’t have the support or the racing background. They supported me, and right now we are just living a dream.”
Suarez thanked fans and his native country in Spanish in victory lane. His win was the first of the weekend for Joe Gibbs Racing.
“For us, after two years, to be where we are tonight is amazing,” car owner Joe Gibbs said. “This is going to be a big deal for our sport. It’s huge.”
It was just Suarez’s third career victory, but the most important for obvious reasons.
Sadler, who gambled by taking two tires on the final pit stop, finished third in the race and second in the standings. The former Cup driver and sentimental favorite remained without a championship at any national level in a career spanning more than two decades.
Allgaier finished sixth, and Jones ninth. Both got stuck behind leader Cole Whitt on the final restart, and when Whitt spun his worn-out tires, Allgaier and Jones fell way behind Suarez. Suarez led 133 of the 200 laps in the race.
Last year’s top rookie in the second-tier series, Suarez began racing karts in Mexico and moved to North Carolina as a teenager to pursue a career at NASCAR’s national level.