Suárez makes history with NASCAR Cup Series victory
SONOMA » Daniel Suárez became the first Mexican-born driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race Sunday, holding off Chris Buescher for a historic victory at Sonoma Raceway.
Suárez, a 30-year-old native of Monterrey, finally won in the 195th career start of a Cup Series career that began in 2017. He also drove his Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet to the third Cup Series victory of the season for this rising 2-year-old team coowned by former driver Justin Marks and music star Pitbull.
Suárez got past Buescher and took charge early in the final stage on this hilly road course in Northern California wine country, and he persevered through a pit stop and a caution to emerge in front with 23 laps to go. Buescher pushed him aggressively, but Suárez made no significant mistakes while rolling to victory.
“It’s crazy,” Suárez said. “I have so many thoughts in my head right now. It’s been a rough journey in the Cup Series, and these guys believed in me. I have a lot of people to thank in Mexico. My family, they never gave up on me. A lot of people did, but they didn’t. I’m just happy we were able to make it work.”
Suárez’s team partied wildly when it was over, even pulling out a celebratory piñata requested by Suárez for whenever he got his first win and clinched a spot in the playoffs.
Suárez, who won the Xfinity Series championship in 2016, is the fifth foreignborn driver to win a Cup Series race. He joins Colombia’s Juan Pablo Montoya, Australia’s
Marcos Ambrose, Canada’s Earl Ross and Italianborn American Mario Andretti.
Newgarden’s victory at Road America, earns $1 million prize
ELKHART LAKE, WIS. » Josef Newgarden earned a $1 million bonus on Sunday for winning at Road America, where his third win of the season completed a trifecta of victories on IndyCar’s different circuits.
Newgarden won on the oval at Texas and the street course in Long Beach this season, and headed Road America searching for a road course win that would make him the first IndyCar driver this season to win on all three circuits.
The reward was a $1 million payout from The PeopleReady Force for Good Challenge, which split the bonus between Team Penske and charities of Newgarden’s choice. The American selected Wags and Walks of Nashville and SeriousFun Children’s Network. It was
the first year of the challenge and claimed before the halfway point of the IndyCar season; Newgarden is the only driver with multiple wins through eight of 17 races.
Newgarden beat Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson of Chip Ganassi Racing by 3.371-seconds following two late restarts, but Ericsson reclaimed the points lead with the runner-up finish.
Verstappen wins in Azerbaijan after Leclerc engine failure
BAKU, AZERBAIJAN » Max Verstappen once again pounced when rival Charles Leclerc faltered in their race for the Formula One title.
Verstappen extended his F1 championship lead by winning the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday — his fifth victory of the season — following yet another Leclerc early retirement.
Leclerc started from pole, immediately lost the lead in the first corner to Sergio Pérez, Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate, then used smart strategy to cycle his Ferrari back to the front. Leclerc regained the lead when he pitted under “virtual safety car” speed restrictions while the two Red Bull cars stayed out.
Leclerc seemed poised to challenge for the win, but the Monaco driver’s car started spewing smoke on lap 20 of 51 and he had to pull into the pits.
His engine had failed — Leclerc’s second retirement in three races.
Toyota dominates again to win fifth straight 24 Hours Le Mans
LE MANS, FRANCE » Toyota won the 24 Hours Le Mans in the classic endurance race for the fifth straight time, with the No. 8 car finishing ahead of the No. 7 in another dominant performance on Sunday.
New Zealander Brendan Hartley had clinched pole position and was at the wheel as Toyota Gazoo’s No. 8 completed the race in sunny and warm conditions, with teammates Sebastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa watching from the team garage.
Swiss driver Buemi has won the race four times while Hartley clinched his third win, and second for Toyota after his first victory with Porsche in 2017. Both had modest Formula One careers.
Dane Tom Kristensen holds the records with nine wins.
Hirakawa secured his first victory to join Japanese countrymen Kazuki Nakajima (3 wins) and Kamui Kobayashi (1) as winners in the famed race, which was first held in 1923.
Jose Maria Lopez of Argentina followed a couple of minutes behind for Toyota’s No. 7 at the Circuit de la Sarthe in northwestern France.