The story of NASCAR’s hottest driver, K&N East Pro Series driver Daniel Suarez, would be extraordinary even if Suarez had not won his first three races this year — and four consecutive touring events dating back to last season.
Suarez, 22, didn’t grow up idolizing Dale Earnhardt or Richard Petty or Jimmie Johnson. In fact, a native of Monterrey, Mexico, he never even knew NASCAR existed until he was 17.
Now, Suarez is en fuego … and on a track to stardom.
“In NASCAR, stars are exposed, not made, and he’s a true star of the series,” says his crew chief Skip Eyler.
“I think he’s a well-rounded candidate for the upper series. I don’t know that he even needs to spend time in truck. With what he brings from a personal standpoint, a professional standpoint as well as being such a well-rounded racer, I think he has tremendous potential — and as he spends more time in the U.S., I think it will only get better for him.”
A product of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program and currently driving the Sunoco Racing Fuel Toyota for Rev Racing in the K&N Pro Series East, Suarez has designs on following in Kwasniewski’s path by racing in one of NASCAR’s top series — possibly the Nationwide Series — before the end of 2014.
Leading 222 of 300 laps in dominating victories at New Smyrna and Daytona to open this season, Suarez and Eyler will celebrate one year together this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway.
After winning his 2013 Mexico Toyota Series finale to finish second in series points, Suarez also won that series’ opener at Phoenix, making him the only driver to simultaneously lead two NASCAR touring series since Kyle Busch led the Nationwide and Camping World Truck series early in the 2009 season. His next race in the Mexico Toyota Series will be April 5 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City.
“Everything started working very good the second half of last year,” says Suarez, who entered 2014 with one victory and 15 top-10 finishes in 30 K&N starts. “The opportunity to again drive in the Drive for Diversity program, our hard work and better communication is paying off. We’ve opened the season in the best way we can. I can’t complain.”
It’s all heady stuff for a kid whose concerted efforts to master the English language have coincided with his learning curve on the track. In fact, those around him acknowledge that Suarez’s improved ability to communicate, in and out of the race car, has been a major reason for his fast start.
Eyler, a former Sprint Cup car chief for Mark Martin and crew chief for multiple Cup drivers at Roush Fenway Racing, happened to be studying Spanish with Rosetta Stone lessons before he knew he’d be teaming with Suarez.
“But it wasn’t long after I’d met Daniel, I realized that he needed to speak ‘red-neck’ English better than I needed to speak Spanish,” Eyler said. “He didn’t know what ‘red-neck’ meant, but that’s an example of the slang and phraseology people use.
“We needed to debrief better. With a young person who has the upside potential of Daniel, we try to help them say the things they need to say to me as well as the things they will need to say at the next level. I also knew Daniel needed to know he could trust me and not be embarrassed asking about things like pronunciations.
“For example when we used the word ‘patience,’ he would be saying ‘passion.’ I remember telling him, ‘Dude, you are passionate about racing, but you need to be more patient.’ Then he laughs and punches me on the shoulder. He understands. It’s interesting, but that’s one of the ways you become friends and learn to have that trust in somebody.”
Eyler says he “tears up,” when hearing stories about how Suarez, with help from his parents and NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program, has come so far, so fast in the U.S.
“I can’t imagine dropping a 21-year-old son of mine into the middle of Mexico and saying, ‘Fish or cut bait,'” Eyler says. “You need a special maturity and confidence to be out there and he looks very comfortable.”
Although it’s not terribly unusual for a driver in his early 20s to begin making his mark in NASCAR’s touring series, most begin their racing careers driving go-karts about the time they enter elementary school. Some advance in the sport thanks in part to family ties or privileged upbringings.
Not so with the roots of Suarez’s career.
“When I was 11,” Suarez recalls, “I didn’t know it existed to be a race car driver. A very good friend invited me to watch him race go-karts. A couple months later, he invited me to race. He talked with my dad and told him I wasn’t so bad, so my dad bought a go-kart and we started doing some races.”
Although never a racer, his father, Alejandro, recognized that his son had talent.
“When he was 13 and got running really well with the kart, he was starting on the pole every week,” Eyler says. “So, his father made Daniel start races at the rear of the field to learn car control. He didn’t pout. He just accepted the challenge and I know that made him a better racer.”
Suarez’s go-kart success brought him an offer to compete on the open-wheel circuit in Europe about the same time the NASCAR opportunity presented itself.
“To be honest, when I started racing, my goal was open-wheel,” says Suarez, who has moved to Charlotte, N.C., bringing him closer to his shop but further from his family, which included his mother, Rosy, and two younger sisters. “NASCAR didn’t exist in Mexico (hardly) at all. But after I start talking with NASCAR, (I saw) that the best drivers in the world are here. It’s crazy how good they are.
“I knew they wanted a Mexican driver to compete in NASCAR and I’m really happy that I made the decision. I love what I’m doing right now. I’m thankful for my family to support me all the time. This opportunity is hard to get and I really feel lucky to be one of those guys. I feel humble.”
The short track at Bristol figures to present an interesting test. Suarez has run at the high-banked half-mile twice, finishing 15th and 26th. But he says he likes the track and his chances to keep his winning streak alive.
“The half-mile is the fastest in the world, so I love this track,” he says. “The first time we went we struggled with suspension. Last year we had a problem with the engine (faulty oil line). But we have run decent. I feel like we are good there. Small things make a difference. Right now, our car is getting to the race track more close to the setup we need.
“The only thing I’m thinking about is trying to be competitive every single weekend and keep the awesome momentum we are carrying now. I think I have a winning personality. I love to win and I always want to be the driver to beat.
“We know it’s going to be impossible to win every single race. But for sure, if I have a shot to win, I’m going to take it. If not, we’re going to run for the top three or, if we can, the top five so that we’re still adding points to our championship (quest).”
- NASCAR Weekend Preview: Dover Motor Speedway - April 25, 2024
- Brad Keselowski inches closer to Victory Lane - April 23, 2024
- Tyler Reddick takes checkered in wild Talladega finish for Michael Jordan’s first win while in attendance - April 22, 2024