Race car driver Daniel Suarez is continuing to make history in the sport. Not only is Suarez the only Latino driver currently competing in NASCAR, but he also became the first Mexican to call a NASCAR race from the Fox Sports broadcast booth.
To mark the occasion on Saturday, Suarez called a lap in Spanish. His Spanish-language debut, unfortunately, was interrupted by a caution flag.
“Tenemos una bandera amarilla!” Suarez, 29, said. “Caution is out, amigos.”
In 2008, Suarez, who was in Monterrey, Mexico, became the youngest driver to win a race behind the wheel of a Mini-Stock in NASCAR Mexico. In 2016, he won the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship and was also the Monster Energy Open winner in 2017 and 2018.
Back in 2012, Suarez said, “I’m the only Mexican, the only Latino in NASCAR, the only guy that can speak Spanish. If I don’t try to do something to bring Latinos to the racetrack, who is going to do it?”
At the end of 2020, he announced that he would join the Trackhouse Racing Team this year. He hopes to “bring the community together” and “bring more Latinos to this racetrack” and to his team.
He said he wants to “make this team something different. Something young. Something cool. Something modern. That’s something we are trying to do.”
Last summer, NASCAR appointed Brandon Thompson to the new position of Vice President, Diversity and Inclusion, an initiative aimed at enhancing diversity across the organization.
“NASCAR has made significant progress in the areas of diversity and inclusion and we now have an opportunity to build on our momentum—both as a company and industry,” Thompson said in a statement. “It is with great passion and energy that we will champion our sport as accepting and welcoming of all individuals interested in being part of the NASCAR family.”