Climbing through the ranks of professional motorsports to become a NASCAR driver is not an ordinary task to achieve. The level of competition in this industry is insanely high, and kids begin preparing for the dream from as young as four years old. In this light, it hardly needs saying how difficult it is for someone from another country to break through and succeed in the sport.
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Here’s a brief overview, or rather, a celebration of five of the most notable foreign drivers who have stepped into stock car racing in the United States and won races.
- Nelson Piquet Jr. (Brazil) – The son of a Formula One World Champion, Piquet Jr. won three races in NASCAR. He finished seventh in the 2012 Truck Series championship with two wins, and also won an Xfinity Series race at Road America the same year. He made his final NASCAR start when he was 30 years old.
- Marcos Ambrose (Australia) – Ambrose was a two-time Supercars champion by the time he moved to race in NASCAR. His highest finish in the Cup Series driver standings was an underwhelming 18th. However, he won a handful of road course races while he was here. He secured two wins in the Cup Series (both at Watkins Glen) and five in the Xfinity Series.
- Juan Pablo Montoya (Colombia) – Montoya was one of the most versatile race car drivers on the planet back in his day. He won the Indianapolis 500 twice, was a proven winner in Formula One, became an IMSA champion, and he was a capable NASCAR driver as well. He secured two Cup Series wins and one Xfinity Series win during his stock car racing career.
- Mario Andretti (U.S.A.) – Although Andretti has spent most of his life as an American citizen, he was born in a region (Motovun/Montona, Istria) that is now part of modern-day Croatia. His accomplishments are a never-ending list, from Indianapolis 500 wins to an F1 championship. In NASCAR, he won a single Cup Series race, the 1967 Daytona 500.
- Daniel Suarez (Mexico) – The Trackhouse Racing superstar doesn’t have a Cup Series seat confirmed for 2026. But he has already achieved in NASCAR what many before him couldn’t. Suarez became the only foreign driver to become a NASCAR champion when he won the Xfinity title in 2016. Furthermore, he is the only foreign driver to win a race in all three national series. He has two wins in the Cup Series, four in the Xfinity Series, and one in the Truck Series.
