NASCAR’s Daniel Suárez Traces His Path from Mexico to the Major Leagues of Stock Car Racing
Hosts Brian Lohnes and John McGann talk with Daniel Suárez at Trackhouse Racing about the challenges he overcame to become a Cup Series driver.
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The HOT ROD Pod hits the road again! This time, we traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina, the capital of stock car racing, for a round of interviews conducted over the course of the Coca-Cola 600 race weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Leading off the series, we spoke with Daniel Suárez, driver of the No. 99 Camaro ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing.
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Daniel Suárez shares his journey from modest beginnings in Mexico to NASCAR's Cup Series. Suárez honors his father’s sacrifices and continues his passion for cars. Watch or listen to the latest episode of the HOT ROD Pod: Where It All Began!
This summary was generated by AI using content from this MotorTrend article
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Daniel has a fascinating life story, growing up in a household of very modest means in Monterrey, Mexico. His father owned an autobody shop that Daniel used to help in. As Daniel’s racing career began to gain momentum, his father sold the business and eventually even mortgaged his house to help fund Daniel’s career as he climbed the ranks of stock car racing in Mexico.
Daniel Suarez celebrates with the Mexican flag after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series The Chilango 150 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on June 14, 2025, in Mexico City, Mexico.
Daniel describes at one point in his career he raced nearly an entire season on used tires that were cast off from other teams just to keep his costs down. He taught himself English upon moving to the U.S. around 2013 to compete in the K&N East series, and his career has taken off from there.
The K&N series led to a spot in the Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series in 2015. He went on to win the Xfinity Championship in 2016 and began racing Cup Series cars the following year. Upon achieving success in NASCAR, Daniel bought back his father’s business as a way to thank him for the sacrifices he made to help him succeed.
Daniel Suarez celebrates with a burnout after winning the The Chilango 150.
Humble and gracious, Daniel describes how he’s never forgotten where he came from, nor does he ever stop learning and pushing himself to be better. We also like that he still restores cars—mostly air-cooled Volkswagens—in his free time and isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. He was adjusting the valves on his VW Bus prior to sitting down for the interview with us, and that’s pretty cool.
To see Daniel in action, tune in to the NASCAR Cup Series Chicago Street Race on Sunday, July 6, 2025, at 2 p.m. Eastern on TNT and streaming on Max.
Photo: Mike Galimi
You can download the HOT ROD Pod: Where It All Began podcast from Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. They are also available to watch on the MotorTrend YouTube channel. Stay tuned for more exciting interviews from the Coca-Cola 600.
A subscription to Car and Driver at age 10 set the stage for what would be John's career path. A voracious reader of car magazines and lover of all things automotive, he set out to learn as much as he could about cars. An automotive technology program provided the foundation, while fumbling around with large American sedans provided real world experience. Finally, a Bachelor of Science degree in photojournalism provided the focus. John accepted a five-month photography internship at Motor Trend magazine in 2003. Upon completion, he remained with the publishing company, managing a photo studio for 18 months before becoming photo editor for HOT ROD and Car Craft magazine. After three years on the production side, John accepted an editorial position at Car Craft in December 2006 and eventually became editor of Car Craft in 2014 and retained that position until March 2018 when he moved to HOT ROD as Executive Editor. He was promoted to Editor-in-Chief of HOT ROD in April 2019.
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