Was NASCAR rooting for a Daniel Suarez fairytale win in Mexico? Ben Kennedy answers

At one point during the race in Mexico, Daniel Suarez emerged as one of the drivers who could've won the race. Suarez, the home hero, had won on Saturday in the Xfinity race and was on the verge of completing a fairytale story on Sunday.

However, instead of Suarez, his Trackhouse teammate, Shane van Gisbergen, won the race. Suarez finished 19th, but for the brief moment in which he was in the lead, the entire racetrack cheered him on.

Because of this moment, NASCAR's Ben Kennedy was asked an interesting question on The Teardown. Kennedy was asked whether, even for a brief moment, he was rooting for Daniel Suarez to complete a fairytale double-win in front of his home fans.

"We don't cheer for anyone at all, but I will say it was incredible watching people's reaction to Daniel Suarez winning that race. I mean, they were jubilant coming into it, and as soon as he took the lead, the place just erupted.

"And then obviously when he won the race, he got out afterwards, and anytime, like even during caution, before he won the race, they would show his onboard for like five seconds in front of the stadium section, people would go nuts. I thought that was so cool," Kennedy said. [2:40]

Ben Kennedy claims Daniel Suarez getting fan love in Mexico is something NASCAR takes pride in

Speaking further about NASCAR's overall reception in Mexico, including the fan frenzy for Daniel Suarez, Ben Kennedy drew a connection to the golden days of the sport. Kennedy claimed that NASCAR takes a lot of pride in putting up a show for the fans.

He mentioned that if one rewinds the clock 20 or 25 years ago, NASCAR had iconic personalities and rivalries.

"I think back to Jeff Gordon-Dale Earnhardt. It's the best example that we had. But people associated themselves with either Jeff Gordon or Dale Earnhardt, and you were a rival of the two.

"And I think it's beautiful that we can come to a place like this in Mexico City where we've had a driver that was born and raised in this country, came up through our National Series, has had success in the National Cup Series and now they have someone they can associate themselves with," Kennedy described. [3:30]

The NASCAR executive added that in addition to Daniel Suarez, drivers like Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney have created their own followings. But now, Suarez, too, has a proven 'incredible following' in Mexico.