NASCAR: List of Cup winners born outside USA reaches 5
The list of NASCAR Cup Series winners born outside of the United States grew to a party of five Sunday. Daniel Suárez, here holding the Mexican flag in celebration, dominated at Sonoma Raceway to join that distinctive list.
Here, in chronological order of their first wins, are those winners — all of whom were born in different countries.
Mario Andretti 1967, Italy
The IndyCar star ventured into stock-car racing for just 14 starts in the late 1960s, but his breakthrough was a big one. Andretti led a 1-2 sweep for Holman-Moody Racing, leading 112 of 200 laps to take the 1967 Daytona 500 ahead of teammate Fred Lorenzen. Andretti became a U.S. citizen in 1965.
Earl Ross 1974, Canada
Ross proudly flew the maple leaf flag on his cars in his brief career (26 starts). His most prolific season — 1974 — also produced his lone Cup win, a triumph at Martinsville Speedway in a Junior Johnson-owned Chevrolet.
Juan Pablo Montoya 2007, Colombia
By the time Montoya went full-time NASCAR racing in 2007, he was already an Indianapolis 500 winner and a seven-time victor in Formula 1. He added to his portfolio with a pair of Cup Series wins — Sonoma Raceway in 2007 and Watkins Glen in 2010.
Marcos Ambrose 2011, Australia
The Aussie driver gave team owner Richard Petty a pair of trips to Victory Lane, both coming at Watkins Glen International in consecutive years (2011-12). Both victories also came at the expense of Brad Keselowski, a runner-up in each one and most notably in a stirring, lead-swapping dash to the finish in 2012.
Daniel Suarez 2022, Mexico
Suárez cut his teeth in the NASCAR Mexico Series before climbing the stock-car ladder, winning an Xfinity Series title (2016) along the way. His Cup Series breakthrough came at Sonoma Raceway, handing Trackhouse Racing a third win in just its second year of competition.
