Daniel Suarez notched a monumental, full-circle moment in his NASCAR career after motoring his way to a hard-earned victory in The Chilango 150 at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City on Saturday, June 14.
The 2016 Xfinity Series champion from Monterrey, Mexico, led 19 of 65 scheduled laps. It was a homecoming event that commenced on a rough note. Suarez wrecked his primary car while qualifying for the main event. As a result, he was forced to start at the rear of the field in a backup car. Suarez, however, methodically carved his way up the leaderboard. He continued, keeping his No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet entry intact through the event’s first two stage periods.
Then during the start of the final stage period with 19 laps remaining, Suarez navigated his way into the lead. He did this despite sustaining cosmetic damage while being bumped into by front-runners Ty Gibbs and Connor Zilisch, with the latter two proceeding to be swept in a multi-car wreck. Amid the damage, Suarez remained on the track and retained the lead during the following restart with 14 laps remaining. Despite enduring another late-race restart with four laps remaining, Suarez had enough horsepower to fend off a hard-charging Taylor Gray. He went on to score his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory in nine years. As a bonus, he was able to share the thrills of his victory in front of his home crowd.
On-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurred on Saturday. Rookie Connor Zilisch claimed his fourth Xfinity pole position of the 2025 season with a 94.314 mph lap in 92.372 seconds. Ty Gibbs joined him on the front row after a qualifying lap at 94.209 mph in 92.475 seconds.
Before the event, Daniel Suarez dropped to the rear of the field in a backup car. This was due to wrecking his primary car during qualifying. The following drivers, including rookie Christian Eckes, Anthony Alfredo, Brennan Poole, Thomas Annunziata and newcomer Andres Perez de Lara also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries.
Green Flag
When the green flag waved and the event commenced, the field fanned out in a three-wide formation. Pole-sitter Connor Zilisch and Ty Gibbs dueled against one another for the lead through the course’s frontstretch. As both Zilisch and Gibbs navigated through the course’s first three sets of turns, Gibbs muscled ahead. He then led through another straightaway that led to a right-hand braking turn, which was Turn 4.
Through the Esses (a series of right and left-hand turns from Turns 5 to 9), a short straightaway just past Turn 10 and a final set of right and left-hand turns from Turns 11 to 15 that featured a large stadium section with fans in attendance, Gibbs maintained the lead. When the field returned to the frontstretch, Gibbs led the first lap over Zilisch. Rookie Carson Kvapil, Christopher Bell and Sammy Smith followed suit in the top five, respectively.
During the second lap, Zilisch drove to Gibbs’ right side in a bid to reclaim the lead. After dueling with Gibbs through the frontstretch, Zilisch assumes the lead in the first turn before contact from Gibbs. The contact sent Zilisch off the track through the following two turns. Despite blending back on the track without spinning, Zilisch dropped to fifth place as Gibbs maintained the lead. This also allowed Bell to navigate into the runner-up spot while teammates Sammy Smith and Kvapil battled for third place.
On the third lap, the event’s first caution flew. Sam Mayer, who was racing in sixth place, wheel-hopped entering Turn 11, spun and hit the barriers on the driver’s left side. In the process, he barely avoided collecting both Kvapil and Jesse Love while sideways. Amid the incident, Mayer continued despite plummeting below the leaderboard.
The start of the next restart on the fifth lap featured the field fanning out in three-wide formation for a second consecutive time. Gibbs, Bell and Sammy Smith all battled dead-even through the frontstretch. Exiting the frontstretch, Bell appeared to have a slight advantage. However, Gibbs drew alongside the latter through the first three turns. Jeremy Clements dropped off the pace due to a mechanical issue. Gibbs muscled his No. 19 Monster Energy Toyota Supra entry ahead of Bell in Turn 4.
Throughout the following four laps, Harrison Burton spun just past the exit of the stadium section (Turns 13 and 14) while both rookie Nick Sanchez and Andres Perez de Lara missed the first turn. Amid the on-track incidents, the event remained under green flag conditions as Gibbs continued to lead.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Gibbs was leading by eight-tenths of a second over Zilisch. Bell, Sammy Smith and Jesse Love raced in the top five. Behind, rookie Carson Kvapil, Justin Allgaier, rookie Taylor Gray, Sanchez and Sheldon Creed pursued in the top 10. Austin Hill, Matt DiBenedetto, Sage Karam, Jeb Burton, Brandon Jones, Daniel Suarez, rookie Christian Eckes, Alex Labbe, Perez de Lara and rookie Dean Thompson were scored in the top 20, respectively.
Two laps later, Bell spun from third place while exiting the stadium section in Turn 14. The incident occurred as Bell was reeling in both Gibbs and Zilisch for the lead before he veered sideways while running over the course’s curbs. Amid the incident, Bell managed to continue while remaining in the top 10.
Shortly after, Justin Allgaier pitted his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro entry under green. By Lap 15, however, Allgaier steered his entry to the garage due to a left-rear axle issue. Seconds after Allgaier’s turn to the garage, on-track trouble occurred for his teammate Sammy Smith. Love bumped and sent Smith for a spin while battling for third place in Turn 2. Amid the pair of issues for JR Motorsports’ entries, Gibbs retained the lead over Zilisch. Kvapil, Love and Gray were scored in the top-five mark by Lap 16.
Within the Lap 17 mark, a series of green flag pit stops ensued as Bell, Sheldon Creed, Sammy Smith, Suarez, William Sawalich, Dean Thompson, Ryan Ellis and rookie Daniel Dye all pitted their respective entries. The leaders Gibbs and Zilisch pitted during the next lap just before pit road closed for the conclusion of a stage period. By then, Kvapil, who has not yet pitted, cycled into the lead.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 20, Kvapil notched both his first Xfinity stage victory of the 2025 season and the first of his career. Taylor Gray navigated his way into the runner-up spot over Love. Hill, Sanchez, Brandon Jones, Sage Karam, DiBenedetto, Jeb Burton and Alex Labbe were scored in the top 10, respectively. By then, Zilisch and Gibbs were mired in 13th and 14th, respectively, while Bell was scored in 21st.
Under the stage break, Ruben Rovelo endured a broken track bar while the field paced on track under caution. It was an issue that would take Rovelo out of contention. When pit road became accessible for the field, some, led by Kvapil, including those who did not pit prior to the first stage’s conclusion, pitted their entries. The rest led by Zilisch remained on the track.
Stage 2
The second stage period started on Lap 25 as Zilisch and Gibbs occupied the front row. At the start, Bell shoved Zilisch ahead of Gibbs through the early portions of the frontstretch . Bell then veered left and tried to challenge Zilisch for the lead entering the first braking turn. Through the first three braking turns, Zilisch managed to fend off Bell to retain the lead. Suarez, Sammy Smith, Gibbs and Creed bumped and jostled from third to sixth on the track. As Suarez boldly muscled his way up to third place, Zilisch proceeded to lead the next set of turns and lead the next lap over Bell.
During the Lap 28 mark, a pair of on-track incidents occurred as Austin Green spun Kris Wright amid contact in Turn 3. Anthony Alfredo would then spin in the Esses, but all continued without drawing a caution. Back at the front, Gibbs assumed third place from Suarez. Zilisch proceeded to lead to the Lap 30 mark by three seconds over Gibbs while Bell, Suarez and Sammy Smith trailed in the top five.
At the halfway mark between Laps 32 and 33, Zilisch was leading. He was ahead of Gibbs while Bell, Suarez, Sammy Smith, Creed, Sawalich, Gray, Dye and Love all pursued in the top 10, respectively. By then, Christian Eckes, Brandon Jones, Mayer, Thompson, Sanchez, Thomas Annunziata, Ryan Ellis, DiBenedetto, Austin Green and Jeb Burton were scored in the top 20, respectively. Meanwhile, Kvapil was down in 27th after spinning in the stadium section. Hill, who pitted under green due after sustaining a flat right-front tire a few laps earlier, was mired back in 35th place.
By Lap 37, front-runners Bell and Suarez along with Sawalich, Love, Mayer, Ellis, Austin Green, Perez de Lara, Josh Williams, and Harrison Burton all pitted their respective entries under green. During the pit stops, Bell’s car went up in smoke as the driver was exiting his pit stall. With the smoke continuing, Bell would steer his car into another pit box, and park it. As a result, he was eliminated from further contention.
As the pit stops ensued, the leaders Zilisch and Ty Gibbs pit before the final two laps of the second stage period. Zilisch just managed to fend off Gibbs entering the first turn. Amid a duel with the latter. he exited the frontstretch from the pit road exit, handing the race lead to Sammy Smith.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 40, Sammy Smith claimed his second Xfinity stage victory of the 2025 season. Gray and Creed trailed in second and third by three and four seconds, respectively, while Jones, Eckes, Dye, Thompson, Sanchez, Zilisch and Gibbs were scored in the top 10, respectively.
During the stage break, most of the field led by Sammy Smith, including those who did not pit before the second stage’s conclusion, pitted their respective entires. The rest led by Zilisch and Gibbs remained on the track.
Final Stage
With 19 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Zilisch and Gibbs occupied the front row. At the start, the latter two dueled through the early portions of the frontstretch. Then Suarez, who was pushing Gibbs, steered to the left engaging in a three-wide battle with Zilisch and Gibbs for the lead entering the first braking turn.
Then in the first turn, trouble at the front ensued. Zilisch hopped the curb and bumped into the side of Gibbs who then bumped into the side of Suarez. The contact got Zilisch sideways as he spun in front of Sawalich. But Sawalich then ran into Zilisch allowing the latter to get his car straightened and continue. The incident, however, triggered a stack-up and chain reaction within the field through the first three turns. Creed, Sammy Smith, Sawalich, Brandon Jones, Kyle Sieg, Mayer, Ryan Sieg, Thomas Annunziata and Zilisch all wrecked and sustained damage to their respective entries. Exiting Turn 3, Gibbs and Kvapil both collided with one another as Gibbs got T-boned in the rear by Parker Retzlaff.
Amid the chaos that wiped out multiple competitors, including the top two leaders of Zilisch and Gibbs, Suarez escaped with the lead and he was followed by Eckes, Taylor Gray, Harrison Burton and Sawalich, respectively.
The start of the next restart with 14 laps remaining featured Suarez outdueling Eckes and the field through the frontstretch and the first three turns. Suarez would proceed to lead through Turn 4, the Esses and the final set of turns through the stadium section before he returned to the frontstretch and led the next lap. With Suarez leading, Eckes retained second place while Gray, Harrison Burton and Sanchez pursued in the top five ahead of Sawalich, Austin Hill, Thompson, Jeb Burton and Brandon Jones.
Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Suarez was leading by one-and-a-half seconds over Gray while Eckes, Hill and Sanchez raced in the top five. While Sawalich, Harrison Burton, Jones, Thompson and Zilisch trailed in the top 10, Kvapil and Gibbs were mired back in 20th and 22nd, respectively.
Then with seven laps remaining, the caution returned due to Love spinning his No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro entry in Turn 15. By then, Suarez retained the lead by more than a second over Gray, with Hill, Eckes and Sanchez following suit.
As the event restarted with four laps remaining, Suarez dueled with Gray through the frontstretch before he started to have a slight advantage through the first braking turn. Entering the second turn, Suarez then made contact with Gray. It resulted in the latter going off the course before he blended his No. 9 Quaker State Chevrolet Camaro entry back on the track ahead of Gray just past the third turn.
Amid the contact, NASCAR ruled that Suarez would not be penalized due to his course of action in going off the track being due to on-track contact. With Suarez maintaining the lead, he would proceed to lead through the Esses and the stadium section turns before he cycled back to the frontstretch and led the next lap. As Suarez led, Gray tried to reel in from second place while Eckes, Zilisch and Hill trailed in the top five.
With two laps remaining, Brandon Jones spun his No. 20 Menards Toyota Supra entry from sixth place, but the race remained under green flag conditions as Suarez maintained a steady advantage over a hard-charging Gray through every corner and straightaway.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Suarez remained in the lead by seven-tenths of a second over Gray. Despite Gray’s efforts to reel in Suarez’s rear bumper, Suarez continued to lead from the first three turns through the stadium section turns. As Suarez exited the stadium section turns, Gray mounted a final lap effort to bump Suarez in the rear bumper but briefly lost his momentum.
Victory
With Gray losing track of Suarez approaching the final turn, Suarez was able to cycle back to the frontstretch and claim the checkered flag by half a second to claim the victory to the delight of his home crowd.
With the victory, Suarez notched his fourth career win in the Xfinity Series division, his first driving for JR Motorsports and his first in the series’ since he won both the finale and the championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November 2016. The victory was also the 13th of the year for the Chevrolet nameplate and the seventh of the 2025 season for JR Motorsports.
Suarez’s Mexico City victory was an emotional one for the Monterrey, Mexico native as he performed a series of burnouts through every turn before he saluted his home crowd in the stadium section turns and was welcomed with a chorus of cheers from the crowd. Suarez will now bid to sweep the weekend as he competes in the Cup Series’ inaugural Mexico City event at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez on Sunday, June 15.
“It’s everything about teamwork,” Suarez said on the CW Network. “These [No. 9] guys worked extremely hard to get this car ready. The car wasn’t supposed to be a winner today and look at where we are right now. It’s been a special day. I can’t wait to enjoy [the win] for a little bit and then do it again tomorrow [for the Cup event]. It’s very, very special to be here in front of my people. All these people, they have supported me for many, many years. They have loved me since my NASCAR Mexico [Series] days and now fighting with the big boys. It feels good.”
Taylor Gray tied his career-best result in the Xfinity Series by posting a strong runner-up result while Austin Hill rallied from his early tire issues to finish in third place. Both Gray and Hill would celebrate with Suarez on the podium as part of NASCAR’s first inception of featuring podium celebrations following a race.
Rookie Christian Eckes notched a career-best fourth-place result while pole-sitter Connor Zilisch made a late rally from his multi-car wreck at the start of the final stage period by finishing in fifth place.
Rookie William Sawalich, Austin Green, Jeb Burton, Harrison Burton and Sammy Smith completed the top 10 in the final running order.
There were seven lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 17 laps. In addition, 30 of 39 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the 15th event of the 2025 Xfinity Series season, Justin Allgaier leads the regular-season standings by 55 points over Austin Hill, 102 over Sam Mayer, 130 over Jesse Love and 157 over Connor Zilisch.
Results:
1. Daniel Suarez, 19 laps led
2. Taylor Gray, one lap led
3. Austin Hill
4. Christian Eckes
5. Connor Zilisch, 17 laps led
6. William Sawalich
7. Austin Green
8. Jeb Burton
9. Harrison Burton
10. Sammy Smith, five laps led, Stage 2 winner
11. Sheldon Creed
12. Dean Thompson
13. Daniel Dye
14. Ty Gibbs, 18 laps led
15. Alex Labbe
16. Matt DiBenedetto
17. Kris Wright
18. Jesse Love
19. Carson Kvapil, five laps led, Stage 1 winner
20. Josh Williams
21. Anthony Alfredo
22. Thomas Annunziata
23. Sam Mayer
24. Josh Bilicki
25. Brandon Jones
26. Brad Perez
27. Blaine Perkins
28. Kyle Sieg
29. Ryan Sieg
30. Andres Perez de Lara
31. Nick Sanchez, one lap down
32. Ryan Ellis, four laps down
33. Sage Karam – OUT, Accident
34. Justin Allgaier, 15 laps down
35. Parker Retzlaff – OUT, Accident
36. Jeremy Clements, 22 laps down
37. Ruben Rovelo, 22 laps down
38. Brennan Poole – OUT, Suspension
39. Christopher Bell – OUT, Engine
Next on the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, for the Explore the Pocono Mountains 250. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, June 21, and air at 3:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network.
