Daniel Suarez made history on Sunday as he became the first Mexican driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He also snapped his 57-race winless streak by edging out Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch in a three-wide photo finish that was decided by mere inches.
Suarez overcomes early crash and late challenge
Suarez’s victory was not without challenges, as he had to overcome a massive multi-car accident on lap 2 that damaged his No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet. He also had to fend off a late charge from Blaney, the 2023 Cup champion, and Busch, who won Saturday’s Trucks race, on the final lap of the Ambetter Health 400.
Suarez, who led only nine of the 260 laps, lost the lead to Blaney on a restart with five laps to go, but he did not give up. He used the outside lane to gain momentum and made it three-wide coming off turn 4. The trio raced that way to the checkered flag, with no clear winner until NASCAR reviewed the finish and declared Suarez the winner by 0.003 seconds over Blaney and 0.007 seconds over Busch.
Suarez celebrates his second career win and first with Trackhouse
Suarez, who joined Trackhouse Racing this season, was ecstatic about his second career win and first since the 2022 season. He thanked his team, his sponsors, and his fans for their support and dedication. He also dedicated his win to his native country of Mexico and his fellow Latinos.
“This is for all of you guys. This is for my people, for my Latin community. This is for everyone who supports me,” Suarez said in his post-race interview. “I’m so proud of this team. They never gave up. They fixed the car after the big wreck and we came back strong. This is a dream come true.”
Suarez also became the fifth different winner in the first five races of the 2024 season, joining William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, and Kevin Harvick. He also moved up to fourth in the points standings, behind Hamlin, Blaney, and Elliott.
Blaney and Busch settle for second and third
Blaney and Busch, who both had strong cars throughout the race, were disappointed to miss out on the win, but they also congratulated Suarez on his achievement. Blaney, who won two stages and led a race-high 121 laps, said he was proud of his No. 12 Team Penske Ford team, but he wished he had a better restart at the end.
“I just didn’t get a great launch there and he (Suarez) got a good push from the 18 (Busch) and I was kind of on defense the whole time,” Blaney said. “He just got to my outside and I couldn’t really do anything. It was a close finish, but not close enough.”
Busch, who led 54 laps and was going for his second win of the weekend, said he tried to make a move in the middle, but he ran out of room and time. He also praised Suarez for his performance and his perseverance.
“He did a great job. He’s been through a lot in this sport and he’s worked hard to get back to this level,” Busch said of his former teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing. “He deserves it. He earned it. He beat us fair and square.”
Other notable finishers and incidents
Austin Cindric, who was making his third Cup start of the season, finished fourth in the No. 33 Team Penske Ford. Bubba Wallace, who also had damage from the lap 2 crash, rebounded to finish fifth in the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota, his best result of the season.
The race featured several incidents that involved some of the top contenders, including:
- A 14-car pileup on lap 2 that was triggered by Aric Almirola’s spin in the outside lane. The accident collected several drivers, including Suarez, Wallace, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Ryan Newman, Cole Custer, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- A pit road collision on lap 135 between McDowell and Byron, who were both slowing down for green-flag stops. McDowell’s No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford skidded out of control and hit Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy, causing both cars to lose a lap. Byron, who won last week’s Daytona 500, finished 17th, while McDowell, who won this year’s Daytona 500, finished eighth.
- A three-car crash on lap 221 that involved Joey Logano, Chris Buescher, and Hamlin. Logano, who started from the rear of the field for using unapproved gloves, squeezed Buescher’s No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford into the wall and collected Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Logano and Buescher were out of the race, while Hamlin continued and finished 11th.
