No. 99 Good Sam Chevrolet driver Daniel Suárez will sport a special helmet Sunday when the NASCAR Cup Series battles for 500 laps on the flat, half-mile at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
The Monterrey, Mexico native is bringing a little of his home country to Southern Virginia as he celebrates Dia de los Muertos – the Mexican holiday associated with the Catholic celebrations of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.
The multi-day holiday held on Nov. 1-2 involves family and friends gathering to pray for and to remember friends and family members who have died.
Though it originated in Mexico, the holiday is now commonly celebrated worldwide, especially throughout Latin America.
A few years ago, Suárez had the helmet design created by Agustin Chavez, a Dallas-based artist who originally hails from Suárez’s hometown of Nuevo Leon. Locally, Chavez in known for his mural designs. The helmet is modeled after the calavera, or sugar skull, which are traditionally decorated with icing to be colorful and fun.
Suarez arrives in Martinsville after finishing 10th at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth on Oct. 17 and 15th at Kansas Speedway on Sunday. Only Martinsville and next weekend’s title race at Phoenix are left on the 2021 schedule.
NBC will televise Sunday’s Martinsville race at 3 p.m.