El Campeon! Mexican Native Daniel Suarez Is First Latin Driver to Win NASCAR Title Mark Long - The Associated Press
go to original November 20, 2016

NASCAR driver Daniel Suarez celebrates with the Xfinity Series championship trophy in after winning the Ford EcoBoost 300 on Saturday. (Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

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, which has two drivers — Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards — vying for the Sprint Cup championship Sunday.

"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.

Read the rest at Miami Herald

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