Sonoma Special: Daniel Suarez Wins First Career Race

After 194 career races in the Cup Series, it finally all paid off for Daniel Suarez. The TrackHouse Racing driver earned his first career victory today at Sonoma Raceway, and celebrated in style. He led the final 26 laps of the race and cruised to a 3.849-second win.

Suarez became the first Mexican-born driver to win at the top level of NASCAR and is just the fifth foreign-born driver to find victory lane. The 30-year old drove a sensational race, and had plenty of emotion in his post-race interview.

“It’s a crazy day. I have so many thoughts in my head right now,” Suárez said. “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 to this point. A 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.”

Last season Suarez scored just one top-five finish and four top-ten results. He led a grand total of 74 laps over the 36 races and finished 25th in the final standings. The driver of the No. 99 Chevrolet has come a long way since then. “I’m extremely proud to be the driver from Mexico, the driver from a different background,” he said. “I don’t feel that the sport could have found someone more committed to myself, my culture and my background.”

Suarez, the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion, became the 12th different winner this season and the fourth first-time winner. He led for a total of 47 laps today and brought TrackHouse their third victory of the year. “I (expletive) love you guys,” Suarez screamed over the team radio as he crossed the finish line.

While many would consider the first-time winner the surprise of the race, there were plenty of other drivers that came away with fantastic finishes.

Chris Buescher returned after a one-week absence and delivered a runner-up finish. It was a strong run for the RFK Racing driver, but he felt he let one get away this afternoon. "This team did a great job and put a really fast Fifth Third Bank Mustang underneath me this weekend," Buescher said. "What a way to return and come back to the racetrack, but I didn’t get the job done there at the end."

"I feel like we should have had the win and I didn’t get it," Buescher lamented. "We were close, just needed more. I needed to make it happen on that last restart and I didn’t. But if we can keep getting cars like this, then a win will come. It was an awesome run and I should be happy, but I’m disappointed to be that close and not get it."

Michael McDowell finished 3rd today as Front Row Motorsports continues to churn out solid results. The driver of the No. 36 Ford Mustang has scored five top-ten finishes in the last eight races. For a moment it looked as though Kevin Harvick would have an opportunity to break his 58-race winless streak, but the Stewart Haas Racing driver just didn't have enough at the end with another late-race mistake. He was disappointed but it was his third top-five finish in the last five races.

Rookie Austin Cindric completed the top five today, leading the way for Team Penske. His teammate Ryan Blaney finished just behind him as Ford powered five of the top-six finishers in today's race. Joey Logano, the third Penske driver, had a disappointing 17th place finish but did come away with a Stage 2 win.

Ross Chastain finished 7th to put a bow on the day for TrackHouse. Championship leader Chase Elliott was aiming for his eighth career road course win today but was penalized during a pit stop at the end of Stage 2. He had to start the final stage from the 34th position but still rallied to finish 8th to lead the way for Hendrick Motorsports.

Rick Hendrick's team made history during the race, despite not getting the checkered flag. By leading the first 50 laps today, the organization has now eclipsed the 100,000 miles led mark in the Cup Series. They are the first team to ever accomplish that feat. Earlier this season they became the first organization to tally 2,000 total top-ten finishes in the series.

Elliott's teammate William Byron finished behind him in 9th and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top ten on Sunday. It was a much-needed result for Keselowski, who notched his first top-ten finish since the Daytona 500 back in February. It also capped a great afternoon for the team that he co-owns, who has been having a rough season.

Kyle Larson started from pole position for the fifth consecutive time at Sonoma, but he was snake bitten towards the end of the race. He won Stage 1 and led 26 laps on the day but he lost the right-front wheel after making his final pit stop. That will likely mean a four-race suspension for his crew chief Cliff Daniels, as the No. 5 team ended up 15th today.

This marks the tenth time this season that a wheel has come off a Cup car, leading to the four-race suspension. Teams are allowed to appeal that penalty but no one has been successful at doing so this year. This will force Daniels to miss the races at Nashville, Road America, Atlanta, and New Hampshire.

Today was a really rough outing for Toyota drivers. Kurt Busch finished 18th and was the only Camry to finish inside the top 25. His teammate Bubba Wallace was done early when his engine went up in smoke. Joe Gibbs Racing, in particular, had a miserable weekend. Martin Truex Jr and Christopher Bell finished 26th and 27th while Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin finished 30th and 31st.

AJ Allmendinger had a disappointing race after being forced to start at the back of the field for unapproved changes. He was able to slice his way up to the middle of the pack but was never in contention for the win. The Kaulig Racing driver finished the same as his car number - 16th. Tyler Reddick was strong early but a mechanical issue ruined his day late in the race, ultimately finishing 35th.

With 16 races in the books and 20 events remaining this season, the Cup series will have a weekend off before the next stop on the 2022 calendar. That next race will be a return to Nashville Superspeedway on June 26. Coverage for the Ally 400 begins at 5 PM ET on NBC.