Fast Facts: 2016 Xfinity Series champion Daniel Suarez

credit: NASCAR via Getty Images/Jonathan Ferrey

A couple of years ago, Daniel Suarez was competing full-time in the K&N Pro Series East and the NASCAR Mexico Series – today, he’s a top-tier NASCAR race winner and champ. Learn more about the 2016 Xfinity Series champion in this week’s championship edition of Fast Facts.

• Daniel Alejandro Suarez Garza was born Jan. 7, 1992 in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. He began his racing career in karting at age 10, winning the class championship in 2007.
• In 2008, Suarez moved into Mini-Stocks, a precursor to the NASCAR Mexico Toyota Series, and became the youngest winner in the series’ history. He moved up to the Mexico Series in 2010, winning the Rookie of the Year Award in spite of only running a partial season. In 2011, he finished ninth in the Mexico Series standings, with three poles on the season; he also competed in seven K&N Pro Series East races.
• In 2012, Suarez competed in both series again, finishing third in the Mexico Series with two wins and 16^th in K&N East competition. In 2013, as part of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program with Rev Racing, he competed full-time in the K&N Pro Series East, finishing third in points with one win and nine top 10 finishes; he also finished second in points in the Mexico Series, with three wins.
• Suarez kicked off the 2014 season on a high note, winning the first two K&N Pro Series East race and three of the first four Mexico Series races. At Richmond International Raceway in April, he finished 19^th in his Nationwide (now Xfinity) Series debut with Joe Gibbs Racing. Later that year, JGR announced that Suarez would compete full-time in the Xfinity Series in 2015, as well as part-time in the Camping World Truck Series with Kyle Busch Motorsports.
• Suarez finished fifth in Xfinity Series points in 2015 and won Rookie of the Year in the series thanks to 18 top 10 finishes and three pole positions. He also picked up 10 top 10 finishes in 13 starts in the Truck Series. He earned his first career Xfinity Series win in 2016 at Michigan, later adding two more wins at Dover and Homestead-Miami on his way to the Xfinity Series title. He also won his first career Truck Series race at Phoenix in 2016, one of six top 10 finishes in 13 starts in the series.
• Learn more about Suarez at his website, www.danielsuarezracing.com.