What started as a disappointment ended in victory for Daniel Suarez as he won the NASCAR Mexico race — King Taco La Batalla en El Coliseo — after Saturday night's Busch Light Clash.
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Earlier in the day, Suarez was one of 13 drivers who failed to make show for the Busch Light Clash in Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Suarez was the only driver running the doubleheader, having also entered the NASCAR Mexico Series exhibition race that was set to follow the Cup Series action.
"I have a bittersweet taste about what happened to me in the Cup Series, but I am happy to have crossed the finish line first in this race," Suarez said. "I pushed at the end and with about 20 laps left I knew that if I didn't make any mistakes, I was going to take the victory."
This was the first time since 2015 that the NASCAR Mexico Series returned to the United States by joining the premier series at the Coliseum on Saturday. Due to torrential rain forecast for LA on Sunday, the race was moved from Sunday to Saturday night. Suarez won the last NASCAR Mexico Series race in the States at the Phoenix Raceway in 2014.
In the closing stages of Saturday's race, Suarez took the lead for the first time with 30 laps to go. He passed four-time NASCAR Mexico Series champion Ruben Garcia Jr., and captured the checkered flag ahead of Santiago Tovar and Alex de Alba.
"Man, this really means a lot," Suarez said after the race. "Thank you fans for coming last-minute. It really means a lot. The people who know me know that this race means a lot to me. All these drivers, all these teams ... I grew up with this. If it wasn't for this series — NASCAR Mexico — I wouldn't be in the Cup Series today."
Suarez got his start in stock car racing in Mexico and would go on to become a NASCAR Xfinity Series champion in 2016 and the first-ever Mexican-born driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race in 2022.
After finishing a career-best 10th in the series standings in 2022 and winning his first Cup race, Suarez dropped to 19th last year and failed to garner a win.
"Let me tell you, it wasn't easy," Suarez said about his win Saturday. "I didn't feel like we were the fastest car out there. I think Ruben [Garcia] with the No. 88, Abraham [Calderon] with the No. 2 car — those guys were faster than me. But I knew I didn't have the raw speed to beat them, so I needed to be smart and save my tires, save my brakes for the long run, and luckily it paid off."
NASCAR officially kicks off its 2024 Cup Series season on February 18 with the Daytona 500 in Daytona Beach, Florida.
