SEATTLE - NASCAR and Mexican driver Daniel Suárez will once again partner up this year to bring a community event to the city of Chicago this summer.
The event titled "Daniel's Amigos" is an initiative by NASCAR that debuted in 2019 with the aims of bringing more Hispanic and Latino fans to the sport, increasing awareness, access, and engagement with NASCAR among the Hispanic community, while generating excitement around race weekends.
This year, the event will take place at Chicago's Harrison Park on Thursday, June 20, between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. Daniel's Amigos will feature a variety of activities, food and entertainment including the performances of Rosalba Valdez y Los Valientes, Mariachi Tesoro de México, and DJ Momami.
The event will also count with local Hispanic food vendors and is free and open to the public. Attendees will also have the chance at a fireside chat with Daniel Suárez, the first Mexican-born driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race.
"Something I appreciate a lot about the Latino community is that we're very loyal to each other. Once we find out that one of us is doing something in baseball, soccer, racing, whatever that may be, we support it a lot," Suárez said. "So it's very special to support each other and for me to let the world know we're doing great things in NASCAR."
Suárez was born in Monterrey, Mexico, and competed in karting and Mini-Stocks before moving to the United States in 2014. Just two years after he joined NASCAR, he won the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship, becoming the first Mexican-born driver to do so.
Since then, Suárez has become a fan favorite across all the speedways in the United States. His popularity prompted him to partner with Coca-Cola to make "Daniel's Amigos" a reality in 2019.
"For many years in the past, NASCAR has been viewed as an American sport. Right now, I believe that has changed," Suárez said. "When I was making that transition, it wasn't 100 percent easy, it required a lot of work, and a lot of people thought it wasn't even possible."
Competing for Trackhouse Racing with number 99 on the side of his car, Suárez' most recent success in the speedways came in February of this year, at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Suárez has two top five finishes in 2024 including the win at Atlanta and sita on 19th place in the drivers' championship.
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