Daniel Suárez, 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion and two-time Cup Series winner, is now an American citizen.
Having passed his citizenship test in May, his swearing in took place in Charlotte, North Carolina on Tuesday. It was conducted by NASCAR president Steve Phelps, who sworn all 47 candidates during a naturalization ceremony.
Following the oaths and National Anthem, Phelps awarded a citizenship certificate to all 48 in the room.
The driver of the No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the NASCAR Cup Series has lived in the United States for 12 years and Tuesday was the culmination of that journey.
“I just hope that this is the beginning of something great, and I can be the example for many people from my country, South America, Europe, you name it, Asia, to come to this country, to work hard, to be disciplined and to do things the right way, because in my mind, if you do all these things right, there is no question you’re going to be successful,” Suárez said in a team release.
In addition to Phelps conducting the ceremony, Suárez was joined by Julia Piquet, Trackhouse Racing president Ty Norris and members of their race team.
Suárez spoke about his decision back in May.
“I feel like it’s a new chapter for my life in the United States,” Suárez said. “Really, everything is still the same. I’m not a different person. Nothing is going to change.
“The reason I did this is because I’ve been here for a long time and I’m going to be here, most likely, for a long time still in the future. With a green card, if something happens, I could get removed if something bad happens, an accident, who knows.
“Once I get an American passport, it’s like yours, we play by the same rules. It’s a little bit safer and I knew I would have the opportunity to be here for a long time.”
Suárez now has dual citizenship in the USA and Mexico.
“The only difference is that I will have two passports instead of one and I’ll have dual citizenship,” he said. “It’s good. It’s definitely very good. It was time. I’ve already been in this country for 12 years. It’s very important. It’s given me so much and I’m very happy to be here.”
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.