Each foreign-born race winner in NASCAR historical past

Along with his third profession victory on the Chicago Avenue Course in 2025, turned the winningest foreign-born driver within the historical past of the NASCAR Cup Sequence.

After all, NASCAR is a deeply American type of auto racing, so non-Individuals successful is not precisely commonplace. Till the highest degree of the game raced in Mexico Metropolis in 2025, there hadn’t been a points-paying Cup race outdoors of america since 1958.

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, who gained the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Components Sequence championship in 2016, is the one foreign-born driver to ever win a national-level title within the sport. He’s additionally the one individual on this record to win a Cup Sequence crown jewel, claiming victory within the 67th working of the Coca-Cola 600.

However lately, NASCAR has slowly develop into extra worldwide in each occasions and on-track expertise. — a sequence file. And of the 11 NASCAR Cup races gained by drivers born outdoors of the US, 5 of them have occurred within the final 5 years.

Drivers from seven totally different international locations have gained NASCAR races on the nationwide degree, together with six within the Cup Sequence. In complete, 47 races throughout all three main divisions have been gained by foreign-born drivers, with 13 coming from Canada. However this is a take a look at all of them:

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Shane van Gisbergen — Auckland, New Zealand (12 wins)

Cup wins: 7 / O’Reilly wins: 5

Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

SVG burst onto the scene in 2023 by successful on debut with Trackhouse Racing within the inaugural working of the Chicago Avenue Course race. Since then, he has left behind his profession as a Supercars driver (the place he was a three-time champion) to pursue a full-time NASCAR profession. In 2025, he gained 5 consecutive highway/road programs in probably the most spectacular rookie campaigns in NASCAR historical past, solely lacking out on the checkered flag at COTA. He continued so as to add to his win tally in 2026, successful the COTA O’Reilly race and the Watkins Glen Cup race (once more). He additionally tried to affix Suarez as the one foreign-born driver to win a race in all three nationwide divisions, however his greatest end in Vehicles is a 3rd at Watkins Glen 2026.

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Daniel Suarez — Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico (8 wins)

Cup wins: 3 / O’Reilly wins: 4 / Truck wins: 1

Daniel Suárez, Spire Motorsports

Suarez, who turned a naturalized US citizen in 2024, holds the particular distinction of being the one driver born outdoors of the US to have gained in all three nationwide ranges, however much more impressively, he’s the one one to develop into a champion. Driving for , he gained the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Sequence championship over veteran driver . He is additionally made the playoffs twice as a Cup driver, putting as excessive as tenth within the championship standings. Moreover, Suarez has managed to win Cup races at each a highway course and on an oval, which no different driver on this record has carried out. His third profession victory got here within the 2026 Coca-Cola 600, turning into the primary foreign-born driver to win any of NASCAR’s crown jewel races.

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Marcos Ambrose — Launceston, Tasmania, Australia (7 wins)

Cup wins: 2 / O’Reilly wins: 5

Race winner Marcos Ambrose

Ambrose is one other Supercars champion, successful the title twice earlier than making the transfer to NASCAR. He positioned as excessive as 18th within the Cup standings throughout his profession, however managed to win a number of highway course races — particularly at Watkins Glen. He gained three consecutive Xfinity races at WGI, and each of his Cup wins got here there as nicely. He was very near snagging a number of different wins, together with some oval races, nevertheless it by no means fairly went his manner. Ambrose additionally has extra wins than every other foreign-born driver in Xfinity Sequence historical past, however each Suarez and SVG are near matching him.

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Ron Fellows — Windsor, Ontario, Canada (6 wins)

O’Reilly wins: 4 / Truck wins: 2

Victory lane: race winner Ron Fellows celebrates

Fellows was a real highway course ringer and an completed sports activities automotive racer, exhibiting up every time NASCAR arrived at a highway course to show inventory automotive’s greatest a lesson or two. He practically gained on the Cup degree as nicely, ending as excessive as second, however his true success got here within the decrease two divisions. He gained thrice at Watkins Glen within the Xfinity Sequence and twice within the Truck Sequence. He additionally earned an Xfinity win at Montreal for his closing win in 2008.

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Stewart Friesen — Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada (4 wins)

Truck wins: 4

Stewart Friesen, Halmar-Friesen Racing Toyota

Friesen is a full-time driver within the NASCAR Truck Sequence with twin citizenship in each the US and Canada. Together with a powerful profession within the dust racing scene, he has began 200 Truck races, making the Championship 4 as soon as and successful 4 races between 2019 and 2025. He’s presently the winningest foreign-born driver in Truck Sequence historical past.

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Juan Pablo Montoya — Bogotá, Colombia (3 wins)

Cup wins: 2 / O’Reilly wins: 1

Victory lane: race winner Juan Pablo Montoya, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet celebrates

It is no shock that probably the most versatile racers on the planet has had success in inventory automotive racing. He’s a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, a confirmed race winner in F1, in addition to an IMSA champion, however Montoya can be a really succesful NASCAR driver. He first gained at Sonoma in 2007, happening to gather Rookie of the Yr honors. He gained once more at Watkins Glen in 2010, however he was additionally agonizingly near successful the celebrated Brickyard 400 on a couple of event. He positioned as excessive as eighth within the NASCAR Cup Sequence championships standings, which is tied for the very best ever for a non-American driver.

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Nelson Piquet Jr. — Brazilian however born in Heidelberg, West Germany (3 wins)

O’Reilly wins: 1 / Truck wins: 2

Victory lane: race winner Nelson Piquet Jr. celebrates

The son of a Method 1 World Champion and an ex-F1 driver himself, Piquet managed to win two of his three races on ovals. He positioned seventh within the 2012 NASCAR Truck Sequence championship after two oval victories, however in that very same 12 months, he additionally gained within the Xfinity Sequence at Highway America. Piquet’s time in NASCAR was moderately temporary, making his closing begin when he was simply 30 years previous.

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Mario Andretti — Montona, Istria, Kingdom of Italy (1 win)

Cup wins: 1

Race Official Mario Andretti

The patriarch of probably the most legendary household in American racing initially got here from Italy. The place he was born is now a part of modern-day Croatia however he spent most of his life as an American citizen. His accomplishments are seemingly infinite, successful all the things from the Indianapolis 500 to the Method 1 World Championship, however in NASCAR, he solely gained a single race. Nonetheless, there is no such thing as a larger race he may have gained within the sport, as he was victorious within the 1967 working of the Daytona 500. He led over half the crown jewel occasion, beating teammate Fred Lorenzen for the win.

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Earl Ross — Fortune, Prince Edward Island, Canada (1 win)

Cup wins: 1

Earl Ross

The Canadian driver gained at Martinsville in 1974, driving for the legendary Junior Johnson. He beat Buddy Baker by over a lap in that race. He additionally ended the season eighth within the championship standings, which is tied with Montoya for one of the best factors end by a non-American driver in Cup Sequence historical past. And to high all of it off, he earned Rookie of the Yr honors in ’74 too.

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Larry Pollard — Victoria, British Columbia, Canada (1 win)

Xfinity wins: 1

Picture by: Tom Szczerbowski/NASCAR by way of Getty Photos

Pollard was a crew chief for a few of the sport’s high drivers, but in addition a reasonably succesful driver himself. He positioned inside the highest ten within the championship standings twice as an Xfinity Sequence driver, successful his one and solely race in the course of the 1987 season on the Langley brief monitor. He was additionally the primary foreign-born driver to ever win an Xfinity Sequence race.

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Raphaël Lessard — St-Joseph-de-Beauce, Quebec, Canada (1 win)

Truck wins: 1

Raphael Lessard, Kyle Busch Motorsports, Toyota Tundra Canac

Lessard was simply a youngster when he earned his solely victory within the NASCAR Truck Sequence. Whereas competing full-time in 2020, he led simply the ultimate lap at Talladega Superspeedway. He was side-by-side for the lead with as they battled by means of the ultimate set of corners, and when the race-ending warning flew, he narrowly forward and claimed the victory.

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