Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour presented by NASCAR on FOX - Daniel Suárez Interview After Winning at Charlotte | VICTORY LAP

Episode Date: May 26, 2026

On this episode of Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, Kaitlyn Vincie sits down with NASCAR Cup Series driver Daniel Suárez as he breaks down his win at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Specifically, Suárez discusses dedicating his win to Kyle Busch, his relationship with Busch and how he helped get him to where he is in his career today, and the overall emotions behind racing after Busch’s passing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with Eye Gaming Ontario. It was like a roller coaster of emotion. It's the first time probably ever. I don't feel like I was ready. Happy. I'm blessed to be able to talk about the importance and the impact that Cal had. California's Kevin Hart.

Welcome into the Victory Lab. I'm Caitlin Vinci. And so very excited to have Daniel Suarez, our big winner out at Charlotte Motor Speedway, joining the program now at Daniel, great to see you. I saw where you did some celebrations with the Taco Penaata. How was everything celebrating such a monumental win with the family? and I know that's a rare occurrence. Yeah, yeah, Kelly.

Definitely was a very special win for many different reasons. You know, the most important one of all is obviously, Kyle, you know, the week and weekend that we had. It was like a roller coaster of emotion. That's exactly what it was, you know. Like I felt like at one point,

I was perfectly fine, and then I was, you know, seeing his old car or a picture of, him or something at the racetrack and he's almost like the emotions were coming back and and like I said, the entire weekend was the same way. So it was a, it was very surreal, you know, to be at the racetrack without him. And I believe, you know, on the good side of things, you know, having my family and friends from Mexico and, and putting ourselves in position to be able to battle for this win, obviously was amazing.

But I'm telling you, the second that they told us that we were the winners of the race, I mean, I celebrated it for like three seconds, and then I just start crying because I started thinking about him and about the meaning of winning that specific race, because next year, the Coca-Cola 600 is going to be extremely special, but it's not going to be the same. So that meant a lot to me. For me, it was very personal. So I'm very, very blessed. The team did an amazing job and just happy to be able to pull this one off.

And I know he obviously had an integral role in your career believing in you over the years. Did you kind of feel his presence in that final drive to the finish? Or did you think about him in those moments and some of the things he's taught you over the years? You know, Keren, a lot of people don't really understand this, but when you are driving, you don't really think about anything. You know, you are in a zone that nothing is crossing your mind, but the present moment, the restart, the way that you're going to execute the restart,

who is around you, all the different things. So when I have the helmet on, no, I wasn't thinking about him. I wasn't thinking about anything but the race. But the second I took the helmet off, it came quick, especially after we won. I started thinking about him, and the meaning of this particular race. So like I said, it was just very emotional.

It's the first time probably ever that I have gotten into my race car to start the race, and I don't feel like I was ready because, you know, being in the National Anthem with Kyle family, with Samantha, with Kurt, Brexton, Lennox, all, you know, Kyle's dad and mom. Like, he was just very, very, very, It was just very strong. A lot of people cry, and it was a very, very emotional moment.

So, you know, the entire weekend, like I said, it was that way. So just very, very happy. I'm blessed to be able to represent not just the win, but to be able to talk about the importance and the impact that Cal had on my life and on the sport. Do you remember your first initial interactions with him and what those were like and how it progressed over the years? years. Yeah, yeah, I remember like it was yesterday because, you know, for me, you know, growing up in Mexico, I just didn't know anyone here. So when I used to think about Kat Busch, Jeff Gordon, Jimmy

Johnson, for me, these guys were like superheroes. You know, they were, that's exactly what they were. They were like Superman, like something like that, you know? And when I went to race for jogger racing, my first race ever in Richmond, 2014, I get to cross some words. with Kyle and for me it was like a little shocking not normally I'm not the kind of person that I get nervous or anything like that but with him I mean I've been watching this guy for 10 years right and and then I got to race full time for jogger racing in 2015 and that's when I believe that I started building a relationship with him and we start talking in the weekly basis and he was helping me and and really he was helping me when I needed the most because that made a difference right for me to

to build the driver that I became and eventually winning the championship. And that led me to coming into the Cup Series. So for that, many people don't know this, but for that, I will be forever grateful. You know, he gave me a hand when I needed it the most. I think that's one of the most interesting parts about Kyle that makes him also so incredibly rare was the initiative he had to help other drivers. You know, you're one of many that he kind of lended a hand to.

Why do you think that's so important that we focus on that as we continue his legacy? Because he's literally helped build our current stars. Yeah. I mean, for me, it's an example of how a good, complete racing driver should do things, right? Because he was already very successful. He has won pretty much everything. And he was helping young drivers. just to come along and to give them a hand.

And I'm pretty sure that when Kyle was very young, somebody gave him a hand as well. And that's why he told, okay, eventually I'm going to repay that. And he did it to me. He did it to Eric Young, he did it to Babawaras. He did it to several of us. For me, obviously, me personally was very impactful because I was just a kid coming from Mexico.

So he didn't have to help me, right? Like I was just a stranger. And he did. So that's why for me it was just very impactful. And I promise you that that taught me that eventually, well, not eventually, but right now I'm actually doing it, helping the future generations as well, you know, giving a hand to the drivers from Mexico, from South America, and every time that I get asked a question or an advice. So it's important to pave the roads for the future as well.

Kyle Bush has definitely made incredible contributions to the sport and so many people in it. I do want to talk about your win for a moment and what you and your team were able to do because you had to overcome some adversity a couple times to get this victory. So what are you most proud of what you guys were able to do on Sunday? I would say that the most proud of I am of going through the adversity and never giving up because we had everything going against us. I mean, we had a loose wheel. We had a tire coming apart.

We had issues with the radios because some drums or whatever they were happening there. We realized actually today that that signal was, I mean, it's supposed to be almost impossible, but it was right in our signal of the radio. So for 70% of the race, I didn't have radios. So we had everything, but we had a fast car, but we didn't get to show it because we had all these different issues. I spent 60% of the race a lap down because of this. extra issues. So it was a tough race for us. But I knew that the car was good. I don't know if it was good enough to win, you know, like speedwise right away, but for sure, good enough for a top 10.

But we never really got to see it because of these different things. So as soon as we got back in the game, Ryan Sparks and my team, they did an amazing job, you know, mixing the strality there. And then they just gave me the ball. And I was ready to. pounds and I was ready to do whatever it takes to be able to hold the lead and and luckily things work out, you know. We made good decisions, a good strategy. I made some good decision on the rest of well, but also, you know, really mother nature helped us a little bit in there. But I felt like we took advantage of the opportunities, you know. I don't feel like, I don't feel like anything was given to us. So, and that was the beautiful part about it. Yes. No, you are in the,

that win fair and square, no doubt about it. You mentioned your crew chief. He was very complimentary of you in an interview he did towards the tail end of the race on the broadcast saying like you're the right guy for the job. How has he been the right guy for the job for you on top of the pit box? You know, six months ago, I was struggling. The 17 was struggling. And, you know, in this, in this business, you have to have a lot of confidence. You have to believe in yourself. And if you don't do that. Sometimes you start second-guessing yourself and we have to make very quick decisions. And sometimes if you don't have that trust and confidence, it's difficult to make those decisions. So when I sat down the first time with Ryan, we had these conversations about how bad are we going

to do this? You know, how bad do we want to be successful in this level? And what are we going to do to be able to make that happen? And we had some very honest conversations. And we had some very honest conversations. And I believe that him and I, we click right away very well. And we start, you know, rebuilding the team. You know, some people are the same from last year. We brought some new people. And the team and myself, I feel like it's someone like a new version of ourselves. The team has been always strong since the get-go. In our first race together, we finished top five in the in the, in the, in the, in the, in the, in the, uh, Bowman Gray race, exhibition race. And I feel like we've been solid. Maybe not the best carriages yet, but we've been solid and building on top of that.

So very happy with that and looking forward to continue to build because I believe that Ryan, Johnny and the rest of the team, they're doing an amazing job. We just have to continue to learn from each other and continue to get better. It's been really fun watching you guys coming into your own this season. We talk about it on Harvard Happy Hour all the time. It's been neat. Congratulations on your win. It was beautiful. very powerful moment. Also, congratulations on fatherhood, having had a chance to tell you on the pregnancy. So very exciting things for you and we're really happy for you. Thank you so much, Kelly. Yeah, super, super excited. I think there is just a lot of amazing things

happening in my life right now. And I feel I feel super blessed, super, super happy. And I can continue to enjoy, to continue to enjoy this moment. And enjoy maybe for a few more hours and then start Thinking about Nashville, because Nashville is going to be here before we know. That's right. Well, we're wishing you all the continued success. Best of luck, of course, in Nashville as well. Thank you so much, Daniel. Thank you so much.

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