“We’re making history together,” is what Daniel Suarez said before the Mexico City weekend, and he has delivered on his word. The hometown hero has done it! He wrecked in qualifying, started at the back, and still parked it in victory lane. Daniel Suarez just delivered the kind of comeback you only see in movies, and he did it right in front of his people.

With an electrified Mexico City crowd that was seeing NASCAR return for the first time since 2008, Suarez had one goal, which was to win. And that’s exactly what he did. But he didn’t just win, he put on a show. In a weekend all about bringing NASCAR back to Mexican soil, he put the exclamation point on Saturday’s Chilango 150.

Daniel Suarez seizes victory in Mexico City

Saturday started like a disaster, with Suarez slamming the wall in turn 11 during the Xfinity qualifying and having to roll out the backup car, but he never gave up. After being forced to start dead last, Suarez pulled off the kind of comeback that gets talked about for years. The Monterrey native led 19 of 65 laps at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, climbing through the chaos and capitalizing when it mattered the most.

NASCAR journalist Claire B. Lang didn’t waste a second celebrating Daniel Suarez’s homecoming in Mexico City. As soon as the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet crossed the finish line, she hit social media with, “Suarez! WINNER WINNER chicken dinner!!!!! First time I said that to Daniel after a win… he had never heard the expression. We laughed for years over the saying. WWCD, Daniel! What a win!” And what a win it was.

He took the lead early in the final stage when chaos unfolded and turn one. Ty Gibbs, Connor Zilisch, and Suarez went three-wide into the corner, but Zilisch was sent flying through the grass, eventually spinning out. Seconds later, Gibbs and Carson Kvalip tangled, and the wreck collected more cars in an automatic pileup that brought out the caution. But when the smoke cleared, it was Suarez out front.

On the next restart, he cleared Christian Eckes into Turn 1 and began pulling away. With just eight laps to go, he was holding a one-second lead over Taylor Gray. But the race wasn’t over just yet; another spin brought out a caution, stacking up the field for one final restart. Gray did not go down easily. He went door-to-door with Suarez into Turn 2, giving him a hard shove and forcing him off track. But Suarez came blasting out of the grass with the lead still intact. Two laps to go, and he was still holding strong. With one lap to go, Gray sent it into the final corner, just belly nudging the bumper, but it wasn’t enough. The hometown hero held his ground and took the checkered flag.

Suarez, standing in Victory Lane with all smiles, said, “It’s been a special day, and I can’t wait to enjoy it for a little bit and then do it again tomorrow. There’s the piñata. We got to do this. It’s just very special, man. It’s very, very special to be here in front of my people. You know, all these people, they have supported me for many, many years. They have loved me since my NASCAR Mexico days, and now fighting with the big boys. It feels good.” With his signature piñata-smashing celebration, Daniel Suarez’s win stole the headlines in Mexico City, but there was a whole other storm brewing just behind him.

It was chaos between Connor Zilisch and Ty Gibbs that opened the door for the local hero’s comeback.

Trending

1

NASCAR Team Owner Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion After Talks Break Down

2

“So It’s Not Safe” – Fans Raise Alarms Over NASCAR’s Mexico Gamble After New Revelations

3

Teresa Earnhardt Faces Huge Backlash After $2.23 Trillion Earnhardt Partner’s Exposè

4

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Raises Red Flag After NASCAR Strips Michael Jordan and Co.’s Luxury Perks

5

Jeff Gordon in Awe as $2T Worth Broadcaster Pulls Off the Unthinkable, Leaving FOX Broadcast in the Dumps

Gibbs vs. Zilisch

Through the first two stages of The Chilango 150, Connor Zilisch and Ty Gibbs looked like the guys to beat. The two combined to lead 33 of the opening 40 laps and were locked in for a potential duel to the finish. But then came stage three, and everything unraveled spectacularly. As the green flag waved, the front stretch turned into a three-wide standoff: Zilisch on the inside, Gibbs in the middle, and Daniel’s up high. Connor’s No. 88 got the curb and slammed into the door of Gibbs’ No. 19 Toyota.

That kicked off a chain reaction through Turns 2 and 3, where cars plowed into each other like it was rush hour in Mexico City. 13 cars were caught up in the mayhem, including William Sawalich, Carson Kvapil, and Parker Retzlaff. Suarez somehow escaped unscathed, and from that moment on, the race was his to lose.

Zilisch managed to bounce back and finish fifth, a strong result considering the chaos, while Gibbs limped home with 14th in his first Xfinity Race of the season. But the frustration was all over both their faces. In a post-race interview with FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, Connor Zilisch simply stated what went wrong, saying, “Well, I didn’t see much besides getting absolutely drilled in the door. I hit the 9 (Suárez). I don’t know how he kept going. I got hit so hard in the door that it knocked the wheel out of my hand, and I hit him and ramped him. So that was wild.”

Ty Gibbs didn’t hold back, though; his radio sounded extremely heated. He went on to ask his crew, “Did the 88 just bomb it in there or what?” And when the crew partially confirmed his assessment, Gibbs added, “The guy did it two times before that, wrecked himself and about 25 other people.” This was the result of an ongoing battle between the two.

On lap two, Gibbs had already shoved Connor wide through Turns 1 to 3. Later, coming out of pit Road on lap 38, they were side-by-side again, and the tension never really cooled. In the end, all the drama just added fuel to the fire for what turned into a fairytale when Daniel Suarez won a race nobody in Mexico will forget any time soon.

Here’s to hoping Suarez can pull off some hometown heroics on Sunday as well. Do you think Daniel Suarez will sweep the Mexico City weekend? Let us know in the comments!