NASCAR Cup Sonoma: Suarez claims historic first win at Sonoma
Daniel Suarez became the first Mexican driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma, as the Trackhouse Chevrolet driver held off Chris Buescher to score his maiden victory.
In his 195th Cup Series start since his 2017 debut with Joe Gibbs Racing, the 30-year-old cruised to a 3.849 second win to book his place in the playoffs alongside team-mate Ross Chastain.
The 2016 Xfinity Series champion, one of the first success stories to come out of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity programme, Suarez had posted a previous best finish of second at Pocono in 2018 with JGR, then had single seasons with Stewart-Haas Racing (2019) and Gaunt Brothers Racing (2020) before joining the new-for-2021 Trackhouse squad last year.
Reflecting on his win, Suarez said: “It’s crazy day, I have so many thoughts in my head right now. I mean, it’s been a rough road, it’s been a rough journey in the Cup Series.
“These guys believe in me, Trackhouse Racing, Justin Marks, Ty Norris. Everyone that helped me to get in this point. I lot of people in Mexico: Jay Morales, Carlos Slim. My family, they never give up on me.
“A lot of people did, but they didn’t. Just very happy we were able to make it work.”
Team co-owner Justin Marks said: “Daniel Suarez and (crew chief) Travis Mack helped build Trackhouse, they’ve been working so hard together. They’ve been so focused, so dedicated trying to get to victory lane.
“The #1 car (Chastain) winning two races this year was tough on them, but they’ve never given up. I’m so proud and happy for them.”
Behind Buescher's RFK Racing Ford, Michael McDowell (Front Row Ford) finished up third as Kevin Harvick (SHR Ford) took fourth and Austin Cindric (Penske Ford) was fifth.
Race winner Daniel Suarez, TrackHouse Racing, Onx Homes / Renu Chevrolet Camaro
Photo by: Jasen Vinlove / NKP / Motorsport Images
Poleman Kyle Larson (Hendrick Chevrolet) had cruised to the Stage 1 victory by 11.8 seconds over Joey Logano's Penske Ford as most of the lead-lap cars pitted prior to the stage break.
Kyle Busch (JGR Toyota) and Justin Haley (Kaulig Chevrolet) were among the handful of cars to pit under an early caution when Bubba Wallace's 23XI Toyota suffered an engine failure, while Larson stayed out to lead team-mate Chase Elliott.
When Elliott peeled in, Logano moved up to second ahead of Busch, Haley and Aric Almirola's SHR Ford.
During the break between Stages 1 and 2, those who had not yet pitted – including Larson – did so. Elliott remained on the track and inherited the lead ahead of Buescher, Tyler Reddick (Richard Childress Chevrolet), Chastain and McDowell.
Suarez emerged as a contender by moving up to third, but his team-mate Chastain spun off course at Turn 7.
Elliott was among the drivers who made green-flag pit stops prior to the stage break, but was penalised for stopping outside his box. Reddick too was penalised for speeding, and both had to restart at the rear of the field at the start of third stage.
Logano stayed out and won the stage from Almirola, ahead of Buescher, Suarez and Harvick. But the top two from the second stage pitted before the final stage got underway, as Buescher led Suarez, Harvick, McDowell and Ryan Blaney's Penske Ford.
Entering Turn 7, Suarez went to the inside of Buescher and grabbed the lead for the first time in the race. Buescher went wide and slid back to fourth, but soon got back to second.
On lap 83, Larson lost his left-front wheel at Turn 2 to bring out the race's final caution. But Suarez held firm from Buescher, as McDowell passed Blaney for third, the latter slipping to sixth by the finish.
Chastain, the recovering Elliott, William Byron (Hendrick Chevrolet) and Brad Keselowski (RFK Ford) completed the top 10.
NASCAR Cup Sonoma results (110 laps)
| Cla | # | Driver | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 99 |  Daniel Suarez |
Chevrolet | 110 | 2:48'22.460 | |
| 2 | 17 |  Chris Buescher |
Ford | 110 | 2:48'26.309 | 3.849 |
| 3 | 34 | Michael McDowell |
Ford | 110 | 2:48'28.142 | 5.682 |
| 4 | 4 | Kevin Harvick |
Ford | 110 | 2:48'30.371 | 7.911 |
| 5 | 2 | Austin Cindric |
Ford | 110 | 2:48'32.312 | 9.852 |
| 6 | 12 | Ryan Blaney |
Ford | 110 | 2:48'35.435 | 12.975 |
| 7 | 1 | Ross Chastain |
Chevrolet | 110 | 2:48'36.426 | 13.966 |
| 8 | 9 | Chase Elliott |
Chevrolet | 110 | 2:48'38.601 | 16.141 |
| 9 | 24 | William Byron |
Chevrolet | 110 | 2:48'39.720 | 17.260 |
| 10 | 6 | Brad Keselowski |
Ford | 110 | 2:48'40.194 | 17.734 |
| 11 | 3 | Austin Dillon |
Chevrolet | 110 | 2:48'54.595 | 32.135 |
| 12 | 31 | Justin Haley |
Chevrolet | 110 | 2:48'55.129 | 32.669 |
| 13 | 14 | Chase Briscoe |
Ford | 110 | 2:48'55.945 | 33.485 |
| 14 | 10 | Aric Almirola |
Ford | 110 | 2:48'56.987 | 34.527 |
| 15 | 5 | Kyle Larson |
Chevrolet | 110 | 2:48'57.824 | 35.364 |
| 16 | 48 | Alex Bowman |
Chevrolet | 110 | 2:48'57.966 | 35.506 |
| 17 | 22 | Joey Logano |
Ford | 110 | 2:48'58.984 | 36.524 |
| 18 | 45 | Kurt Busch |
Toyota | 110 | 2:48'59.452 | 36.992 |
| 19 | 16 | A.J. Allmendinger |
Chevrolet | 110 | 2:49'06.434 | 43.974 |
| 20 | 15 | Joey Hand |
Ford | 110 | 2:49'06.767 | 44.307 |
| 21 | 41 | Cole Custer |
Ford | 110 | 2:49'09.807 | 47.347 |
| 22 | 43 | Erik Jones |
Chevrolet | 110 | 2:49'13.617 | 51.157 |
| 23 | 42 | Ty Dillon |
Chevrolet | 110 | 2:49'14.465 | 52.005 |
| 24 | 38 | Todd Gilliland |
Ford | 110 | 2:49'16.276 | 53.816 |
| 25 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
Chevrolet | 110 | 2:49'16.522 | 54.062 |
| 26 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. |
Toyota | 110 | 2:49'19.459 | 56.999 |
| 27 | 20 | Christopher Bell |
Toyota | 110 | 2:49'20.321 | 57.861 |
| 28 | 21 | Harrison Burton |
Ford | 110 | 2:49'28.244 | 1'05.784 |
| 29 | 77 | Josh Bilicki |
Chevrolet | 110 | 2:49'29.458 | 1'06.998 |
| 30 | 18 | Kyle Busch |
Toyota | 110 | 2:49'31.547 | 1'09.087 |
| 31 | 11 | Denny Hamlin |
Toyota | 110 | 2:49'31.738 | 1'09.278 |
| 32 | 51 | Cody Ware |
Ford | 109 | 2:48'52.349 | 1 Lap |
| 33 | 78 | Scott Heckert |
Ford | 109 | 2:49'49.301 | 1 Lap |
| 34 | 7 | Corey Lajoie |
Chevrolet | 101 | 2:49'17.119 | 9 Laps |
| 35 | 8 | Tyler Reddick |
Chevrolet | 97 | 2:49'28.140 | 13 Laps |
| 36 | 23 | Bubba Wallace |
Toyota | 9 | 12'18.119 | 101 Laps |
| View full results | ||||||
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