Daniel Suarez 'living the dream' after emotional Xfinity Series win in Mexico City

It may have only been a win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, but Daniel Suarez received a Daytona 500-esque level of cheers and commendation from the Mexico City faithful on Saturday. 

After holding off Taylor Gray to complete a last-to-first charge in Saturday's Xfinity Series race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Suarez, a native of Monterrey, Mexico, was essentially royalty in Mexico's capital city. 

Suarez was forced to start the race from the back of the pack after a crash in qualifying totaled his No. 9 Chevrolet, pressing the back-up car into action. Despite a caved-in front nose and a car that was battle-worn all the way around, Suarez managed to earn one of the biggest victories of his racing career. 

When he entered the media center for his post-race media availability, Suarez was cheered by local reporters who not only got to cover a whale of a race, but one in which Mexico's favorite NASCAR son scored the victory. 

"For me, just racing here, just the fact that we have this amazing event here, it means the world," Suarez said in his post-race news conference. "To be able to win the race, I mentioned this a few days ago, I'm living a dream." 

"Just over 10 years ago, I left this country just trying to find opportunities in the United States with nothing," Suarez said. "No English, nothing. I just feel very, very blessed. I'm very happy for everything we were able to accomplish today." 

Suarez says the win is far from a victory that only he is celebrating. 

"This win is not just for me, and it's not just for Quaker State, it's not just for my team," Suarez said. "It's for every single person who has worked so hard the last few years, because this event is not possible because they started working on it 12 months ago. They've been working on this for years." 

"I feel so fortunate to have these roots and to have chosen NASCAR," Suarez said. "10 years ago, I had to make a decision - either NASCAR or going to Europe. I wanted to go to NASCAR. I'm so happy with that decision."

Suarez will be back at his full-time job on Sunday, piloting the No. 99 Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. That's a job that inherently comes with more stress, especially given the fact that Suarez has struggled to perform in a contract year. 

But on Saturday afternoon, none of that mattered. All Suarez could think about was the fact that, in NASCAR's triumphant return to his home country, he capped an incredible race with a storybook ending that will never be forgotten.