Daniel Suárez to compete in NASCAR Brazil race around his wedding

Daniel Suárez announced Tuesday he will compete in the NASCAR Brazil Sprint Race at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, also known as Interlagos, in São Paulo Aug. 3-4.

The race takes place during the multiweek break NASCAR is taking for the 2024 Summer Olympics and also around the same time Suárez is getting married to his fiancée, Julia Piquet, in Brazil.

Daniel Suarez is getting married in Brazil in a couple of weeks. He’s going to celebrate by running the NASCAR Brazil race while there. pic.twitter.com/CE7ANdRIkE

— Kelly Crandall (@KellyCrandall) July 16, 2024

“I’ve been competing almost every year pretty much since 2015. And I love it so much, that’s why I do it,” Suárez said, via Kelly Crandall of RACER. “We’re gonna be getting married in Brazil in a couple of weeks. And when I found out they were gonna be having a NASCAR Brazil race at a racetrack that is so historic, it was a no-brainer for me. I started having conversations with NASCAR and NASCAR Brazil and I got the opportunity. Super excited, I’m very fortunate to have this opportunity.”

Daniel Suárez receives special gift after becoming U.S. citizen

Suárez, 32, currently has one win this season — at Atlanta back in February. He’s posted two top-10 finishes as well and will be a part of the 16-driver postseason field.

The 2016 Xfinity Series champion and Mexico native was sworn in as a United States citizen last month. This past weekend at Pocono Raceway, Jim Cassidy, a former NASCAR executive who served as chief international officer, gifted Suárez an American flag that was certified to have flown over the U.S. Capitol to commemorate his recent citizenship.

“Not a lot of people know this. But I have a great relationship with Jim Cassidy, an ex-executive of NASCAR,” Suárez said Saturday, via NASCAR.com. “And he sent me this gift, which I had no idea exactly what it was. And then when I opened it and I read the paper on the flag where it was flown, it was very emotional, especially because I opened that gift and I opened a few packages I got and received at the house — and the very next package was my American passport.

“So, I opened the flag and my American passport within a minute of each other. I got goosebumps right now because it was a special [moment]. I was alone in the house, so nobody knew. Nobody knew what was happening but myself, so it was a special moment for myself.”