Daniel Suárez, Pitbull cap victory celebration in best way possible by smashing a taco piñata full of cash

LEBANON, Tenn. — Becoming the sport‘s first Mexican-born NASCAR Cup Series winner is a cause worthy of a big-time celebration.

And what‘s a party without a piñata?

Yes, that’s worldwide music superstar and Trackhouse Racing co-owner Pitbull in the middle of a race shop tossing a piñata full of cash to his driver Daniel Suárez, who earned an indelible place in NASCAR history two weekends ago at Sonoma Raceway.

(How’s that for a 2022 Mad Lib, eh?)

RELATED: Suárez becomes first Mexican-born driver to win Cup Series race

Not only was the win a long time coming for Suárez, with five-plus full-time Cup seasons and nearly 200 starts under his belt — so was the piñata.

“A few months ago, I had a few conversations with a few friends in Mexico about a piñata. They asked me what my celebration was going to be and I had no idea; and then a piñata came into the conversation,” the Monterrey, Mexico native said Friday at Nashville Superspeedway, site of Sunday’s Ally 400 (5 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN). “Then, I had a similar conversation with my teammate, Ross (Chastain), about it. Slowly, it just started making sense. Matt Norris, he works at Trackhouse Racing, he went to check for a piñata. He sent a few pictures of piñatas and a taco piñata was there, so we decided to pick the taco piñata. It‘s been with us in the hauler for six or eight weeks, so it was about time to smash it.”

And that’s just what Trackhouse Racing does. Smash things.

MORE: ‘This is my home‘: Win solidifies Suárez‘s future with Trackhouse

From perceptions of what a fresh Cup team is capable of, already with both of its drivers provisionally locked into the playoffs with a trio of victories between them, of course, two of those wins ending with bits of watermelon spread out like a Jackson Pollock painting on the front stretches of Circuit of The Americas and Talladega Superspeedway via Ross Chastain’s signature celebration.

For Chastain, sending fruit flying is an homage to his family heritage as multi-generational watermelon farmers.

The piñata ties run just as deep for Suárez.

“In Mexico, that‘s a big culture thing,” he said. “Since I turned 1 year old and all the way to 30 years old, for every birthday, I‘ve had a piñata. And I will say that every kid does it; it‘s a big culture thing. It was fun.”

The win was perfectly timed for the No. 99 Chevrolet driver, as well, as he managed to sneak in a trip back home to celebrate with his family in his native country with no Cup Series action last weekend.

“It was quite a special moment. It was probably the most special trip I‘ve ever had to Mexico,” Suárez said. “Everybody was very, very excited for me. The people that have been with me on this journey for 10 years now in the U.S., they know how hard it’s been. … They‘ve known me when the lows were low, and known me when the highs are high. It was a lot of fun to see all the people that have stuck with me. All the people that I love. Honestly, if I could write down everything I wanted it to be for that first win, it‘s exactly how it happened. So, I‘m very, very blessed and very fortunate.”

And for Pitbull, a first-generation American born to Cuban immigrant parents, to be the one to toss him the taco — filled with a “heavy” amount of cash, according to Suárez — had to be special. But thank goodness the pitch was on the money.

“I have to say, thank you to Pitbull for throwing the piñata the right way because if it wasn‘t for him, I was probably going to miss. But he threw it very, very good,” said Suárez.

“It was great. That day was also very special for me. That was the last day of celebration for me because that was the last day that I got to enjoy it with Pitbull and my team again. That night, I put it in my mind to flip the page. I enjoyed every second of it, but for me, it‘s in the past. Now, it‘s time to get some more.”