Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez is a step away from becoming a citizen of the United States. He announced on his X handle this week that he’d passed the qualifying exam and will very soon hold citizenship status in the U.S. and in Mexico, his home country. Suarez first began racing full-time in the U.S. in 2010. In 2016, he became the first Mexican driver to win a championship in NASCAR.
Advertisement
After lifting the Xfinity Series trophy he moved to the Cup Series and again, became the first Mexican driver to win a race in NASCAR’s premier tier (Sonoma, 2022). He has been driving for Trackhouse Racing since 2021 and was most recently on the front pages for his photo-finish win at Atlanta. Announcing the results of his citizenship test, he was understandably joyous.
He said, “Obviously this country has given me so much, and to now be doing the next step in my life is quite special. I’m from Mexico and I will always be very, very proud of my country. But the United States over the last 12 years has given me so much, and I felt like it was the right time to make that step.” He concluded by thanking all his fans and well wishers for their messages.
Talking to his team’s media ahead of Sunday’s race in Kansas he revealed more details about the exam that he’d taken. “I studied a lot for it,” he said. “There was a list of 100 questions and I had to answer six of 10 questions correctly. It took me seven questions to get six right. I missed the one about the Constitutional Convention, but got all the others correct. It was fun.” He continued to confirm that he will be a dual citizen of both the countries after being sworn in.
The fickle that Daniel Suarez was in at Trackhouse Racing after dire 2023 season
When Trackhouse Racing signed up Shane Van Gisbergen and Zane Smith to drive in the Xfinity Series, the louder voice said that they were being prepped to replace Suarez in the #99 Chevrolet Camaro. The reason behind the unrest was the Mexican’s winless 2023 season. Failing to make the playoffs, he’d finished 19th on the points table.
Though team owner Justin Marks denied such rumors, there was a pressure to perform on Suarez heading into the 2024 season. Just a race into the year, he grabbed up a victory in Atlanta by beating defending champion Ryan Blaney in the narrowest of margins. While he may not yet be totally out of the red yet, he is certainly on the right path. With the same in hindsight, his citizenship status could not have come at a better time.
