Before Saturday’s (June 14) NASCAR Xfinity Series race in Mexico City, Daniel Suárez had already experienced many memorable moments in his racing career. From winning the Xfinity Series championship in 2016, to becoming the first Mexican-born driver to win a Cup Series race in 2022, the Monterrey native is no stranger to making history in motorsports.
However, Suárez’s victory at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez on Saturday may be one of the most special and significant achievements of his entire life. After wrecking his No. 9 JR Motorsports’ Chevrolet in qualifying and having to start at the rear in a backup car, the 33-year-old driver quickly worked his way through the field.
He took the lead on a restart inside of 20 laps to go, when Connor Zilisch and Ty Gibbs both spun after running up front for most of the day. Suárez would later have to fend off a late-race charge from rookie Taylor Gray, but the veteran prevailed and took the checkered flag in front of an enthusiastic home crowd.
Crossing the line behind Suárez and Gray was Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill, with rookies Christian Eckes and Zilisch rounding out the top five. William Sawalich, Austin Green, Jeb Burton, Harrison Burton and Sammy Smith rounded out the top 10.
The Winners
Suárez’s victory has to be a huge shot in the arm for the two-time Cup Series winner, who has had an up and down season driving for Trackhouse Racing at the sport’s highest level. It marks the fourth win of Suárez’s Xfinity career, and his first since winning the series’ championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2016.
It was a huge points day for Gray, as the Joe Gibbs Racing rookie matched his best career finish of second, while also finishing second in both of the opening stages of the race. With the strong result, Gray moves up to 13th in the series standings and now sits just 4 points out of a playoff berth.
The comeback award of the day goes to Hill, who cut a right front tire on lap 31 and had to pit under green. The Georgian methodically worked his way back up through the field and avoided all of the calamity in stage three to score a third place result. Hill has now finished seventh or better in his last six races.
It was an impressive drive from Eckes, who scored the best finish of his young career with a fourth place result. The rookie started all the way back in 34th, but through pit strategy found himself inside the top five by the end of stage two. Eckes would keep his track position for the remainder of the race and stay out of trouble to earn his first top five finish since COTA back in March.
A sixth place result was just what the doctor ordered for Joe Gibbs Racing’s Sawalich, who has had a rough start to his rookie campaign. The 18 year old had to overcome some adversity after having an incident on lap six in which he lost many positions, and later suffering some damage during the chaos at the start of stage three. The finish marks Sawalich’s best career result, and is also just his third top 10 of the season.
Lastly, it was a successful day for the underdogs, as Green and the Burton cousins finished seventh, eighth and ninth, respectively. Green has impressively now finished inside the top ten in four of his eight career road course starts, while Harrison overcame early adversity after going for a spin on lap seven of the race.
The Losers
While Zilisch still managed to score a top five result with his damaged JR Motorsports Chevrolet, this was really a race that got away from the rookie driver. Zilisch led 17 laps and battled hard with Gibbs for much of the day, but at the start of the final stage, the North Carolinian jumped the curb in turn one and spun out, collecting several drivers including Haas Factory Team’s Sam Mayer.
Meanwhile, in the following corner, Gibbs made contact with rookie Carson Kvapil while battling for second, sending both cars around and triggering a separate accident which took out numerous competitors, including Parker Retzlaff, who suffered heavy front-end damage to his No. 4 Alpha Prime Racing Chevrolet. Gibbs would finish 14th after leading 18 laps, while Kvapil, Mayer and Retzlaff would finish 19th, 23rd and 35th, respectively.
It was a disappointing day for Toyota drivers Christopher Bell and Brandon Jones, who both looked to have strong results but ended up finishing towards the back of the field. Bell seemed to be one of the few drivers who had anything for Zilisch and Gibbs early in the race, but he would blow an engine coming to pit road towards the end of stage two, relegating him to a 39th place finish. Jones looked to be on his way to a top-10 finish in the closing laps of the race, but went for a spin with only two laps to go, dropping him down to a 25th place finish.
Lastly, it was an equally disappointing outcome for Chevrolet drivers Justin Allgaier and Jesse Love, who both were running up towards the front of the field when they encountered issues that derailed their days. Allgaier suffered transmission trouble towards the end of stage one, forcing him to pit and go behind the wall, while Love would spin out with seven laps to go after running inside the top ten for much of the race. Allgaier and Love would finish 34th and 18th, respectively.
Fuel for Thought
Overall I think most people would agree that the Xfinity drivers put on a great show in the series’ return to Mexico City. With the entertaining racing that we witnessed, along with the enthusiasm and energy from the crowd, it definitely raises the question of which other international markets that NASCAR should explore hosting a race weekend in.
While Canada seems like a safe and realistic option for the future, it’d be cool to see both Cup and Xfinity race somewhere like Brazil, which is also known for its passionate sports fans and has a long history of motor racing. Another interesting option would be hosting a race in Europe — it would introduce millions of people overseas to the sport that we know and love, while also getting new eyes on NASCAR’s stars and up and coming drivers.
Paint Scheme of the Week
Sage Karam’s fpw.org Toyota was one of the most vibrant and eye-catching schemes on track Saturday.
Karam ran inside the top 15 early in the race, but brake issues relegated him to a 33rd-place finish.
Where to Next?
Next Saturday, June 21, the series heads to Pocono Raceway for the Explore the Pocono Mountains 250. 2024 series champion Cole Custer won last year’s running of the event, leading 25 laps en route to the victory.
Coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. CT, with television coverage on The CW and radio coverage on Motor Racing Network.
Jake Altmayer joined the Frontstretch team in 2025, assisting as a news writer and contributing to other weekly columns and articles, such as Friday Faceoff and Xfinity Breakdown. A 2024 graduate of DePaul University, Altmayer has closely followed NASCAR's national series (Cup, Xfinity and Trucks) for nearly a decade and has attended more than a dozen races over the course of that time. In his free time, he enjoys cycling, spending time with his loved ones, and listening to his favorite band, the Beach Boys.