In all his high hopes and hard work over the last year to promote Nascar’s return to his home country of Mexico, even Daniel Suárez could not have imagined the amazing story of his dramatic win in Saturday’s The Chilango 150 – coming from last place on the grid in a backup car and charging to Victory Lane.

After victory spinouts, the 33-year old from Monterrey, Mexico, climbed out of his No 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, stood on the car’s roof, pounded his chest and pointed upward to the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez grandstands – shouting to the thrilled crowd in his native Spanish and thanking his loyal fans for their support.

“It’s everything I was looking for, just a special day,” said an emotional Suárez, the 2016 Nascar Xfinity Series champion, who led a race-best 19 of the race’s 65 laps and beat Taylor Gray to the checkered flag by .598 seconds in a backup car the team rebuilt after he crashed in the morning qualifying session.

“It’s a very special day to be here in front of my people, all these people that have supported me for many, many years and known me since my Nascar Mexico days. Now I’m fighting with the big boys,” said Suárez, who was forced to use the “international provisional” starting position after his incident in qualifying.

Even after diligently working his way through the 37-car field, Suárez had to earn this win by every definition. The Nascar Cup Series full-timer went door to door with Gray on a restart with three laps remaining, ultimately pulling away – only to have to fend off a fast-approaching Gray again on the final stretch of the last lap.

Suárez first took the lead Saturday in similarly dramatic fashion, prevailing on a three-wide restart with 19 laps remaining.

He emerged out front after going head-to-head with the race’s early leaders, rookie Connor Zilisch and fellow Nascar Cup Series regular Ty Gibbs. The polesitter Zilisch, who led 17 laps, wheel-hopped taking the opening corner of a crowded restart, spun and then hit his JR Motorsports teammate Carson Kvapil as the pileup behind began.

Gibbs, who led 18 laps, moved forward from the initial contact then made contact with Kvapil’s Chevy on the next turn. The ensuing pileup affected 13 cars to varying degrees.

Suárez drove through the melee, drawing a massive cheer from the crowd. The Mexican fans stood on their feet, arms raised, Mexican flags in the air.

Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill finished third, Kaulig Racing’s Christian Eckes was fourth and Zilisch recovered to finish fifth in another of the day’s more remarkable efforts.

After that incident with 17 laps remaining, Zilisch fell back to 28th place with damage to the right side of his Chevy, only to move through the field at a remarkable pace – up 14 positions in the three laps after the restart. He was in 10th place with 10 laps to go, finishing among the top five.

“I’m proud of my team for their effort,” said Zilisch, who leaned against his car alone on pit road, obviously disappointed with the outcome after such a strong afternoon.

“Obviously the finish isn’t what we wanted. We probably had a better car than fifth place, but we got caught up in an incident on that last restart. Just proud to be able to come here and get a decent finish.

William Sawalich, Austin Green, Jeb Burton and his cousin, Harrison Burton, and Sammy Smith rounded out the top 10.

There were seven lead changes among six drivers, with Kvapil winning the first stage and Smith winning stage two.

Nascar Xfinity Series championship leader Justin Allgaier had to take his No 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet behind the wall for repairs before the end of the first stage, ultimately settling for a 34th-place finish, 15 laps down to the winner. Fortunately for the reigning series champion, he held a 92-point advantage over Hill atop the points standings heading into Mexico City. He now leads by 54 points.

NASCAR and Riverhead Raceway have postponed this Saturday’s scheduled NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event one day to Sunday as a forecast for inclement weather impacts the area.

The race will now begin at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 15.

Earlier this week, NASCAR released the next set of 10 drivers included in the 40 greatest NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour drivers, selected based on their accomplishments on the Tour beginning in 1985.

On that list is four-time Tour champion Justin Bonsignore, who sits second on the all-time wins list at 45. Bonsignore will be racing at this home track this weekend, which was also the site of his first career Tour win.

Also on the list is the namesake of this weekend’s race, Steve Park, who finished second in the Tour standings twice before making the jump to race for Dale Earnhardt in the No. 1 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series.

The rest of the names added to the list this week are well known to fans in New York, and especially at Riverhead. The list is rounded out by Mike Ewanitsko, Wayne Anderson, Charlie Jarzombek, Timmy Solomito, Eric Goodale, Todd Szegedy, “Tiger” Tom Baldwin, and Mike McLaughlin.

For updated event information as available, fans may go to nascar.com/regional.

NASCAR PR

The startling images caught the attention of NASCAR fans — many of whom questioned why the Cup Series was traveling to Mexico City if it seemingly was dangerous. “This is just stupid and pointless and a big waste of money. Not to mention unsafe. What is wrong with NASCAR thinking this was a good idea,” one X user wrote.

“Generally curious. If THIS much security is required for the haulers, WHY did NASCAR think visiting Mexico was a good idea? This seems like a recipe for disaster,” another added, with a third chiming in: “We don’t need to down there. Shouldn’t need anything like this to run a race”

NASCAR’s Vice President of racing operations Tom Bryant revealed that the sanctioning body employed the help of Rock-It Cargo, which has worked with Taylor Swift, FIFA and Formula 1 in the past. “Literally every hour from Sunday morning until about noon Tuesday is planned and there are events tied to it,” he said of the crossing. “And by gosh, it better happen on time.

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“We’re anticipating no issues… they’ve been doing it for 45 years and haven’t had an issue.”

While addressing the thought that went into planning the crossing and weekend as a whole, Bryant added: “We’re responsible for everything. It’s people. It’s equipment. It’s all the logistics to support all that. It’s security. It’s a ton of contingency planning because, hey, we are going to be way far away from our home base here, right?

“We’re not at North Wilkesboro, where we can run back down to Charlotte and grab pieces and parts. That’s not possible. So every aspect of the event weekend has to be planned for, coordinated, resourced, and ready to go.”

Switching teams has created a challenge for Michael McDowell.

After seven seasons in the No. 34 Ford with Front Row Motorsports, the 40-year-old driver from Glendale, Arizona, is in his first season in the No. 71 Chevrolet of Spire Motorsports. That has meant learning new people, new processes and a new manufacturer.

“The cars drive a little different, they feel a little different. So what I needed last year versus what I need this year has been a little bit of difference,” McDowell said. “That’s honestly been a bit of a surprise, but that’s part of that working out process. We’re learning those things. We’re learning those tendencies and trends that maybe aren’t the same as we’ve experienced the past few years.

“But all in all I’m happy with the progress. I’m not happy where we’re at as far as points and finishes. But that’s because as a racer you want more. You feel like you should be doing more. But I feel like everything is in place to be successful. I’m happy where I’m at, happy with the direction we’re going. Just wish we would get there a little faster.”

On Sunday, McDowell and the rest of the NASCAR Cup drivers will compete in the series’ first race in Mexico City at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Then, they head to Pocono Raceway for next Sunday’s Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.com. It is part of a NASCAR tripleheader weekend at the 2.5-mile triangular track in Long Pond that includes the Craftsman Truck Series Miller Tech Battery 200 on Friday and the Xfinity Series Explore the Pocono Mountains 250 on Saturday.

Through 15 races, McDowell has one pole at Las Vegas and one top-10 finish — a seventh at Charlotte. His average finish is 19.1 and he is tied for 22nd in the standings, 37 points in back of Kyle Busch for the 16th and final cutoff spot to qualify for the playoffs over the final 10 races.

“All in all, with the speed we’ve had and some of the results we’ve gotten, I feel really good about where we’re at,” McDowell said. “We’ve had some bad weeks, no doubt about it, some off weeks — we call those character building. There have been some real challenges. At the same time, our car has had a lot of speed. So I feel good about where we’re at.

“Now, we don’t have a race win under our belt and I wish we had more top 10s and top fives to show for it. But we’re still early in the process. I feel like we’re one week away from being great. This is a good week to be great. That’s the mindset we have. Keep building and keep pushing forward.”

This could be the week for McDowell on the road course in Mexico City. The second of his two career Cup Series wins came on the road course at Indianapolis in 2023. His other victory occurred in the 2021 Daytona 500. On Friday, McDowell was the fastest car in the first practice session. On Saturday, he qualified fifth.

If not at Mexico City, then Pocono could possibly be McDowell’s breakthrough. In 22 career starts there, he has two top-10 finishes: eighth in June 2020 and sixth in July 2022. He also started second in the June 2021 race.

“I’ve had some good runs there, some not good runs there,” McDowell said. “But I love coming to Pocono. I feel like the last few years have been solid for me there. I feel like I find a rhythm there quickly. Some places just click and Pocono for me has always been a place that’s just clicked.”

He has a lot of support there, too. Besides Phoenix, McDowell said he has the most amount of fans at Pocono than any other track.

“I really don’t know why,” McDowell said. “It’s something I look forward to. The line of people standing along the fence as you walk out to the garage. There’s probably five or six people that I recognize every year that have been there for 20 years and I say Hi to and make a connection with. It’s just a place I enjoy going to.”

With its three different corners, drivers and teams vary in their philosophies on which one they feel is more important at Pocono. McDowell said you don’t have to be the best in any of them, but you have to be decent in all of them.

“I feel like it’s a compromise place where you’re going to have to live with being a little bit free here or a little bit tight there,” McDowell said. “You have to adapt well, find your rhythm. It is a rhythm race track, but it also is long straightaways with fast corners that challenge you every lap to live on the edge. It is one of those places that, like Indy, where you go, ‘I’m just going to commit to sailing it off in here and I hope it sticks’ because I know this straightaway is so important and so long. You just do that lap after lap after lap. There’s a lot to pushing yourself and being comfortably uncomfortable all day long.”

NASCAR AT POCONO SCHEDULE

Friday, June 20: Craftsman Truck Series practice, 12:35-1:30 p.m.; qualifying, 1:40-2:30 p.m.; Miller Tech Battery 200, 5 p.m.

Saturday, June 21: Xfinity Series practice, 10-10:55 a.m.; Xfinity qualifying, 11:05 a.m.-noon; Cup Series practice, 12:35-1:35 p.m.; Cup qualifying, 1:45-2:30 p.m.; Xfinity Explore the Pocono Mountains 250, 3:30 p.m.

Sunday, June 22: Cup Series, The Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA.COM, 2 p.m.

George Russell stormed to pole position at the Canadian Grand Prix and will start on the front row alongside his Barcelona rival Max Verstappen.

Verstappen was hit with a 10-place penalty and three penalty points after colliding with Russell’s Mercedes during the Spanish Grand Prix. Now, the duo’s fight will head to extra time as they start alongside one another in Montreal.

Russell looked strong all weekend and took his first pole since the Las Vegas Grand Prix, a race he went on to win, with a time of 1m 10.899s.

Verstappen had topped the timesheets until Russell’s final run usurped the Dutchman, while championship leader Oscar Piastri will start third for McLaren.

Piastri’s title rival and team-mate Lando Norris endured a tough afternoon and is down in seventh, starting on the fourth row alongside the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

Andrea Kimi Antonelli starts fourth for the second Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton fifth and Fernando Alonso taking a standout sixth for Aston Martin. Isack Hadjar and Alex Albon round out the top 10.

Yuki Tsunoda was hit with a 10-place grid drop and three penalty points during the session after stewards ruled on a red flag infringement during FP3. This means he will start from the back of the field having been 11th fastest in Q2.

Franco Colapinto improved on his weekend so far and will start in the 11th spot vacated by Tsunoda, with Nico Hulkenberg and the Haas pair of Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon following close behind.

There were some surprising names out in Q1, with Pierre Gasly the slowest and Liam Lawson also knocked out in 19th. Home favourite Lance Stroll struggled on his return from injury and is down in 18th.

There was a delay during the session with a red flag needed after Albon’s Williams shed a large part of bodywork down the back straight.

His team-mate Carlos Sainz was then left fuming with Hadjar, who had clearly impeded the Williams driver as he narrowly missed the cut, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto also eliminated. 

Photos from Canadian GP – Practice & Qualifying

F1 Canadian GP results – qualifying 

Shane van Gisbergen will lead the NASCAR Cup Series field to the green flag in the inaugural event in Mexico City.

The New Zealander had set the fastest lap at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez when NASCAR deemed the session official because of rain. The pole-winning lap was 93.904 mph (1m32.776s).

“That’s awesome,” van Gisbergen said. “What a really cool achievement for us and a great starting spot for tomorrow. I’m excited. That’s really cool.”

The pole is the second for van Gisbergen in his career. He is 33rd in the point standings and earned his first, and so far, only, Cup Series victory in the inaugural event at the Chicago street course.

“We made some big swings last night,” van Gisbergen said. “The Safety Culture car was a bit better, a lot more front grip, which is what I needed. But my laps were average. You’ll see everyone is beating me on the first half of the lap and then my lap gets good at the end. I went for another lap, and was on a ripper, and mucked it up. We’ve got a lot of speed today, which is good; it’s been a great improvement. But we’ll see what happens with the weather and see where we end up, but a really good starting point.”

Ryan Preece qualified second with a lap at 93.839 mph.

Ross Chastain qualified third (93.830 mph), Ty Gibbs qualified fourth (93.757 mph), and Michael McDowell qualified fifth (93.704 mph). Kyle Larson qualified sixth (93.694 mph), Todd Gilliland qualified seventh (93.657 mph), AJ Allmendinger qualified eighth (93.655 mph), and Joey Logano qualified ninth (93.628 mph).

Daniel Suarez, the local hero, rounded out the top 10. Suarez qualified at 93.616 mph.

Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott just missed the top 10. Busch and Elliott qualified 11th and 12th respectively.

Cup Series point leader William Byron qualified 27th. Christopher Bell, who won the most recent Cup Series road course race at Circuit of the Americas, qualified 31st.

Ryan Truex qualified 36th for Joe Gibbs Racing as he drives Denny Hamlin’s car this weekend. Katherine Legge qualified last, 37th.

RESULTS

UP NEXT: Cup Series race in Mexico City at 3pm ET Sunday.