XFINITY: Suarez Electrifies Mexico City Crowd With Last to First Win

"This is very special, man. This is very, very special to be here in front of my people," Suarez explained after sharing a warm embrace with his wife Julia Piquet. "You know, all of these people, they have supported me for many, many years. They have loved me since my NASCAR Mexico days, and now fighting with the big boys, it feels good."

Suarez's day started with a heavy impact into the Turn 11 water barriers as he suffered a brake failure during his qualifying run. With substantial front-end damage to his primary No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, the team would have to thrash to get his backup car prepared. They were rewarded with a hard-fought win by the 33-year-old driver.

"It's everything about teamwork. These guys worked extremely hard to get this car ready, and the car wasn't supposed to be a winner today, and look at where we are right now," Suarez said. "I can't thank enough Quaker State, JR Motorsports, and all of the people who worked really, really hard for us to be here this afternoon. It's been a very special day, and I can't wait to enjoy it for a little bit, and do it again tomorrow."

In pulling off the last-to-first rally on Saturday, Suarez became just the eighth driver to ever accomplish the feat in the history of the NASCAR National Series, and the first to ever do so in a road course event.

Suarez joins Ross Chastain (2025 Coca-Cola 600), Tyler Reddick, Bobby Hamilton, Tommy Houston, Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, and Dick Rathmann as drivers, who have achieved this in the NASCAR National Series ranks.

While Suarez won the race by holding off Taylor Gray for the race win in the closing laps, the Monterrey, Mexico native set up his shot at winning by taking the lead on a hectic restart with 19 laps remaining in the race. On this restart, the two dominant drivers of the race, Connor Zilisch and Ty Gibbs, suffered major damage as Suarez skirted by to take the lead.

Suarez wouldn't look back as he would lead the final 19 circuits around the 2.42-mile road course to score his fourth career NASCAR Xfinity Series win. Suarez will now attempt to pick up his third NASCAR Cup Series win on Sunday in the Viva Mexico 250, where he'll start from the 10th position.

Roughly four seconds behind the top-two finishers was Richard Childress Racing's Austin Hill, who collected a third-place finish. The driver of the No. 21 Chevrolet had a rally of his own as he bounced back from a flat tire mid-race for the podium finish.

Christian Eckes would come home in the fourth position, and Connor Zilisch, who led 17 laps on the day, would finish fifth after needing to climb back through the field with a battered No. 88 Chevrolet following the damage incurred on the restart with 19 laps to go.

William Sawalich, Austin Green, Jeb Burton, Harrison Burton, and Sammy Smith would round out the top-10 finishers in the race.

Christopher Bell, who has three wins in the NASCAR Cup Series this season, finished 39th after his engine blew on the 36th lap of Saturday's race. Bell, who was driving the No. 24 Sam Hunt Racing Toyota, was running inside the top-five at the time of the motor failure.

Justin Allgaier, the defending NASCAR Xfinity Series champion and current series point leader, would finish 34th, 15 laps off the pace after he suffered a broken axle mid-race. This is just the fifth time through the opening 15 races of the 2025 season that Allgaier has failed to finish a race inside the top-five.

Allgaier came into the day with a 92-point lead, and he'll exit Mexico City with a 54-point lead over Austin Hill.

Next up for the NASCAR Xfinity Series is a trip to Pocono Raceway for the Explore the Pocono Mountains 250 on Saturday, June 21. That race will be televised on The CW, and coverage will kick of at 3:30 PM ET. The Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will provide the radio broadcast of the event.

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