NASCAR driver Daniel Suarez hoping for a 'quick transition' to race at Fontana again

NASCAR Cup Series 65th Annual Daytona 500 - Practice
NASCAR Cup Series 65th Annual Daytona 500 - Practice

The Pala Casino is just a few hours away from kick-off on Sunday (February 26) at Auto Club Speedway and Daniel Suarez will be looking to continue his last week’s Daytona form to get a checkered flag in Fontana.

Suarez enjoys competing at Auto Club Speedway and knows that this will be his last race at the two-mile, low-banked, D-shaped Superspeedway. There will be no racing at the track in the 2024 season as the site will be converted to a half-mile short track and construction work could take until 2025.

In a recent interview, Suarez said he loves the track more than just racing because he feels like home, thanks to the racing community of Fontana. He said:

“I love that racetrack. I love that place. The community there always makes me feel like home."

The 31-year-old said that he would have preferred the track to remain as it was and was unsure about the future at the track facility. He continued:

“I think it will be very sad if we wouldn’t come back. I don’t think that’s going to happen, though. But I think definitely there is going to be a main change. I just hope that transition happens quick and we can come back and don’t miss anything else. I can tell you that I’m going to work very, very hard to go to Victory Lane very, very soon here”

Daniel Suarez became the first Mexican-born driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race when he took the checkered flag at Sonoma Raceway in 2022.


We are very optimistic for Sunday” – Daniel Suarez

Daniel Suarez returns to the track this weekend, where he has two top-10 finishes with a best finish of fourth place in 2022 and has made five Cup Series starts. He came very close to winning last year at Auto Club Speedway. He was in the lead with three laps to go, but he then dropped to fourth-place and Kyle Larson claimed the win in the end.

However, going into Fontana, the #99 Chevrolet driver is optimistic to perform better on Sunday. Suarez said:

“I love racing there. The track is so fast and wide. The restarts are amazing. We were so close there last year despite hitting the wall. We are very optimistic for Sunday.”

Catch Daniel Suarez in action at the Auto Club Speedway on February 26, 2023.

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