It’s been a year since No. 99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet driver Daniel Suárez won at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.
The Trackhouse Racing driver took the lead on the first lap of the final stage in 2022 and led all but three laps to became the first Mexican driver and fifth foreign born driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race.
He returns to the Northern California track this weekend seeking to make it consecutive wins on the road course.
He arrives in Sonoma after finishing seventh at World Wide Technology Raceway near St. Louis on Sunday.
He’ll be one of the favorites Sunday given his performance at the season’s only other road course race at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas where he spent most of the race in the top-five until he was wrecked in the second overtime battling for the lead.
Fox will broadcast Sunday’s race at 3:30 p.m. EDT.
Daniel Suárez:
Does arriving in Sonoma after a good run at St. Louis give you even more confidence?
“Definitely, man. Every time we head to a road course, whether it’s Sonoma (Raceway), or somewhere else, I am excited. I feel at home and I am excited to go back to a place where we had great memories last time and hopefully we can repeat it. Sunday’s race at St. Louis was great for us. It was a good solid run from start to finish. We just need to build on it.”
Can you win again on Sunday?
“Of course we can. We have a very good road course program. You saw how fast we were at COTA. We are going out to Sonoma with plans to sit on the pole, lead every lap and win the race.”
What do you remember about Sonoma last year?
“It was such a crazy day and I had so many thoughts in my head. I mean, it was a rough road getting to victory lane but that moment was so worth it. Not just for me but for my family, Julia, these guys believe in me – Trackhouse Racing, Justin Marks, Ty Norris. Everyone that helped me to get to this point. A lot of people in Mexico – Jay Morales and Carlos Slim. My family, they never give up on me. A lot of people did, but they didn’t. I was just very happy we were able to make it work.”
What were the final laps like last year?
“I was just trying to stay calm. I knew that it was a big stake on the line, but I was trying to stay calm. I was silent. I wanted to do my thing. I didn’t want too much noise on the radio. I knew what I had to do. I would say after the white flag is when I got out of control. I just start crying inside the helmet, just thinking about it. Especially because I had a big gap. If it wasn’t a big gap, I would be focused. Since I had a big gap, I was just thinking about every single moment that has cost me to be here.
“It’s been a different journey. Every NASCAR driver has had a tough journey. Everyone has a different journey. But my journey is definitely the most different of everyone else, leaving my family, my country, and just coming to a different culture, different language.
“Thinking of all those things, it makes it very, very, very special.”
Trackhouse Racing PR
