Did NASCAR’s Driver Diversity Program Find the Next Daniel Suarez?

It’s always intriguing for fans when a driver born outside the States tries their hand in NASCAR. Not many people have been successful, coming from outside, but one man who has defied those odds is Daniel Suarez. The 31-year-old is the only Mexican-born driver to win a Cup Series and he is a former Xfinity Series champion as well. NASCAR might have found another driver like him who seems to be taking the same route to get into the big leagues.

NASCAR Drive for Diversity sensation’s impressive 2023 campaign

Daniel Suarez’s entry into the NASCAR Cup Series began a number of years ago when he was a member of the Drive for Diversity program. He raced in the NASCAR Toyota Series in Mexico and the K&N Pro Series before moving up to the Xfinity Series. Today, he is a full-time Cup racer for Trackhouse Racing and a mainstay in the competition.

The young driver who is coming up and is seemingly on a similar path to Daniel Suarez is 18-year-old Andres Perez de Lara. Perez recently announced that he will drive for Rev Racing in the 2024 ARCA Menards Series as part of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program. With a solid resume to back him, expectations will be high for the young racer.

2023 was a season to remember for Perez, especially in the ARCA Menards Series. He achieved 10 top-5 finishes and finished in second place in the competition. He was also named Rookie of the Year in the 2023 NASCAR Mexico Series and is the 2022 NASCAR Mexico Challenge champion.

His impressive resume is not very different from his compatriot, Daniel Suarez. Before he made the move to the Xfinity Series as a full-time driver in 2015, Suarez also drove for Rev Racing but in a different competition. He was one of the team’s drivers in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. In his final year in the competition, the 31-year-old notched up two race victories.

Daniel Suarez had an even better 2014 campaign in the NASCAR Mexico Series which saw him win 5 races out of 15. It didn’t take the 31-year-old long to make an impact in the Xfinity Series after making his full-time debut in the competition in 2015. Suarez won the championship in 2016 after winning three races in the season.

Andres Perez also has a golden opportunity to impress the teams in NASCAR’s higher divisions, just like his compatriot. With an impressive 2023 behind him, there will be teams interested in him for the future.

Daniel Suarez was one of the NASCAR drivers who attended the Las Vegas Grand Prix last weekend. A little-known fact is that he may soon be related to the competition’s most dominant driver at the moment.

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Daniel Suarez meets F1 star and future family member in Vegas

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The woman Daniel Suarez is engaged to, is Julia Piquet, daughter of 3-time Formula One World Champion Nelson Piquet. Julia is the sister of Kelly Piquet, who has been dating the current Formula One World Champion Max Verstappen publicly since 2021. Suarez and Verstappen will likely be related in the near future and the former Xfinity Series champion was at the Las Vegas strip to wish luck to his “amigo.”

The 31-year-old uploaded a picture with the Formula One star on social media before the race weekend, captioning it, “Good luck this weekend amigo! 🎲 🏎️💨” Perhaps he also met with Verstappen’s teammate and his compatriot, Sergio Perez.

Daniel Suarez did not have a season to remember in 2023. The 31-year-old failed to make the playoffs and was a disappointed man in the end. He will be hoping to set things right from the get-go in 2024.

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