Daniel Suárez’s rise through NASCAR’s ranks didn’t come easy. Every milestone he’s achieved, every fan he’s won over, has been hard-earned. He had to uproot himself and come to a country whose native language he did not know, all while having no friends, support, or even financial backing.
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All he had was a dream of reaching the highest level of NASCAR, and that’s what the Mexican driver focused on while learning English on his own, since he couldn’t afford to hire a tutor while working on his racing skills. Suárez began his racing journey in 2002, competing in karting before stepping into the NASCAR Mexico Series in 2010 with Telcel Racing, where he made an immediate impression by capturing Rookie of the Year honors.
A year later, he went to the United States, entering the Toyota All-Star Showdown and dipping his toes into the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East division. His early stints weren’t smooth, as 2011 through 2013 tested his persistence and determination. By 2012, Suárez was splitting his time between the Mexico Series and K&N East, scraping together enough results to stay afloat. He finished sixteenth in the standings that season, scoring three top-10s in nine starts.
The next year, he committed full-time to K&N East, but the transition proved daunting. On a recent episode of the HOT ROD podcast, Suárez revealed, “It was very intimidating, especially for myself, because I come from a family that is very humble, very family-oriented.”
“So for me to leave my country, to leave my family, my friends, my home, and a different language, different people, different culture, it was a change. It was a very big change. And that was intimidating,” he added.
“Like, because if I needed help, there was nobody to ask. I didn’t have money. I didn’t have friends. I didn’t have connections. And I didn’t speak English, and I couldn’t communicate. It was a challenge. At the same time, I had a lot of lonely nights by myself, and I really, really made me think how bad I wanted this, how bad do you want this?”
But as he learned English by watching movies, TV shows, and so on, there’s a favorite movie of his that Suárez has watched over 30 times now and still would love to go back again.
Talking to Bob Pockrass back in 2023, Suárez said, “Gone in 60 seconds. I love that movie so much. I watched it like 30 times. I love cars, obviously, the movie is about cars.” Another movie that he has watched in Spanish and in English is Driven, starring Sylvester Stallone.
Daniel Suarez learned English by watching television. So which movies would he still watch today if they come on his television? One of his answers is a racing movie that has a 33 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. pic.twitter.com/sJy1GoWSMn
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) August 17, 2023
However, those films weren’t mere entertainment for him; through each replay, he absorbed words, rhythms, and even a little inspiration. One and a half decades later, the kid who once didn’t know how to ask for directions or even a glass of water from anyone in English now commands victory lane interviews in almost fluent English. Surely, Suárez has come a long way.
