After six years and 195 races in the NASCAR Cup Series, Daniel Suarez recorded his first victory at the Toyota/Save Mart 350. And he had a special way of celebrating it.
Upon crossing the finish line first in the race, Suarez pulled out a pinata in the shape of a taco. Then punched a hole through the pinata, allowing the candy to spill out onto Sonoma Raceway.
The Fox commentators noted that Suarez had been preparing for that celebration for a long time. Suarez once said that when he finally got his first win, he would celebrate with a pinata.
It makes sense that Suarez has his unique celebration tool. His Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain celebrates his wins by smashing a watermelon. It’s only fair that Suarez be allowed to smash a taco pinata.
Born in Mexico, Daniel Suarez got into professional racing at the age of 16, where he quickly ascended the ranks as one of the country’s best stock car racers.
Suarez joined Joe Gibbs Racing in 2014 and began racing full time in the Xfinity Series the following year. After winning the Xfinity Series in 2016, he joined the NASCAR Cup Series in 2017.
But success in the Xfinity Series didn’t really follow Suarez to the Cup Series. In his first five seasons he never finished higher than 17th in the overall standings.
However, with a win and five top 10 finishes in 2022, he’s starting to climb those rankings.
Congrats to Daniel Suarez on the big win!