“I just couldn’t slow down”: Daniel Suarez explains his Xfinity wreck in front of home fans

Daniel Suarez crashed out in the qualifying session for the Xfinity Series race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico on Saturday, June 14. He attributed the cause to the pedals being worn out, resulting in too little braking power.

Suarez suffered a significant setback during Xfinity Series qualifying at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. The Mexico-born driver crashed his #9 JR Motorsports in front of his home fans. The incident occurred when Suarez began his first flying lap. On Turn 11, he seemingly lost control and suffered a head-on impact with the barrier, leaving the car with front-end damage. The crash forced Suarez to switch to a backup car and start from the rear.

Daniel Suarez attributed the crash to having break issues, indicating that the brakes didn't respond as expected. He said (via Bob Pockrass on X):

"I've been having issues with brakes pretty much all day, but I didn't know if it was normal or not. You know, I don't spend a lot of time with these Xfinity cars and after talking to some of my teammates, they were not experiencing the same things. My pedal was just traveling too much and I just couldn't slow down. I just probably shouldn't have thrusted the brakes that much.

"We were debating if we were going to fix it before qualifying or after qualifying and maybe go to the back and just the first quarter that I pushed the car, my brakes just traveled too much and I felt like the car was never stopping. So it was unfortunate."

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Daniel Suarez will hope to turn things around in the race later in the day, and he will also take part in the Cup Series race on Sunday (June 15).

Daniel Suarez admitted it was ‘very hard’ to express his emotions about racing in Mexico

Daniel Suarez shared that it was “very hard” to express his emotions about racing in Mexico as NASCAR returned to international competition for the first time in over 25 years. As the only Mexican-born driver in the Cup Series, Suarez has been the center of attention throughout the event, with the hype, energy, and support from fans and media far exceeding his expectations.

He described the experience as living a dream, feeling blessed and happy to be racing in front of his home crowd.

"This event I feel like it hasn't even started yet, and it has been I've been living a dream. That's exactly what has been happening for me the last few days. I feel very blessed, very happy to be here racing in front of you guys," he said via Speedway Digest.

Beyond his own racing ambitions, Daniel Suarez expressed a desire to help fellow Mexican racers and mechanics pursue opportunities in the United States.

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Born and raised in Pune, India, where a strong emphasis on education instilled in me a lifelong love of learning. My academic journey led me to Amity University in Noida, where I earned my Bachelor's degree in Mass Communication. This foundation in communication arts ignited a passion for storytelling and a keen understanding of audience engagement.

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Edited by Tushar Bahl