In 2016 Suarez became the first Mexican to win a championship in one of the three national series of NASCAR in the United States and he was also the first to do it without being American, all that moved him to raise his level of and motivation.
"It feels good to be the champion of the Xfinity Series. You feel that so much work and dedication from many people starts to pay back. After the first victory in Michigan, I started thinking, 'we are already a strong team that can win the championship'. And I enjoyed it very much. It's something that I still enjoy when I see the photos, but you fulfill a goal, celebrate it and you have to move on to the next one, otherwise you get stuck. You keep thinking about that championship for the rest of your life and that's not right. Now we are in the position to look for another one", he mentioned.
In all the categories he has been in NASCAR in the United States, he has been Rookie of the Year, now he has strong opponents, but this title is his next goal...
I'm not sure if we will win it. We have many possibilities, there is no doubt about that, but we have to think race by race. I don't know where you can see the points. They are not in my priorities the way they are going. That will happen if you do your job on the track. I am thinking about the race I am running today and if I do my job well on the track, those points will be fixed on their own.
Asked about his best friends among Cup drivers...
I don't have any, haha. There are no friends on the track. I get along well with my teammates and some other drivers, but my best friends I bring to the track, I don't race against them.
Suarez didn't plan on being a driver, it was just a hobby...
My dad was the one who really started everything with go-kart racing when I was 10 years old. At first it was like a hobby. My goal wasn't to be a driver, but I always liked cars and speed a lot. My family doesn't come from racing, like it happens to other drivers.
When I was 14-15 years old I started to realize that I liked this a lot. I didn't know exactly if I could make a career out of it, but I was sure that I wanted to race cars every day. In Mexico it was hard, but we started to meet people with more experience and things started to work well.
About his time in the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program and the difference with his compatriots who also sought that opportunity without success...
When I moved to the United States I didn't have many sponsors and I was looking for someone who could support me in this career. When you are starting out it is the toughest stage and I didn't have many options. The NASCAR Diversity program helped me a lot to have an opportunity with a team that wasn't the best, but it was decent and the best of all is that I didn't have to pay. That helped me a lot to learn and have an opportunity in the future as it happened with Joe Gibbs Racing.
Before me, there were several Mexican drivers who raced here, but they didn't have the support of the program. I think I was the first one, although I'm not sure. I don't know what the difference was, I have always worked very hard and believed in what I can do. I think one of the mistakes we make as Mexicans when we go to the United States is that we think there will be some kind of discrimination. Many friends in Mexico told me about it, but there was none of that for me. I think the mentality I had was a little different and it worked. I am very fortunate to have a great family that has supported me and directed me on the path that I believe is the right one.
In Mexico there is a great tradition of Formula-type cars, but he wanted to do rallies...
I never thought about racing in formulas, racing in NASCAR or something specific, I just wanted to race. Although I wanted to do rallies first. I didn't know if I was going to have the possibility to race in two years. So I enjoyed every year as if it were the last one.
I had the opportunity to compete in Europe in world go-kart championships and when I came back, I did some practice sessions in Formula Renault in Mexico with one of my friends, who competed there (Enrique Baca); we wanted to do something, but it was too expensive and there were no sponsors. I realized that you needed to have a very wealthy family to be able to race in those categories. Fortunately in NASCAR there were many sponsors and then the opportunity came there.
Most people think of formula drivers exercising and having a special diet, but not so much of NASCAR drivers...
People don't know how strong it is to drive a NASCAR car and the temperatures. You are practically inside an oven. Physical preparation is very important, there are many drivers in NASCAR who do a lot of exercise, others not so much. I am one of those who do more, it's a combination of gym, mountain biking and road biking.
Many drivers have a special diet, I don't have that much, I can't follow it. I like to eat everything, but I eat nutritiously.