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 But the one thing he was lacking was a win to bring it all together
and propel him on the path to becoming the youngest champion in the
history of NASCAR's Mexico Series.
"We were so close to Victory Lane last year, but without a win, I
was really hungry for victory," said the 20-year-old Garcia, who
finished second to Abraham Calderon in series points in 2014. "When
it finally came, it was like a real relief for me and motivation to
keep things going."
Garcia's first of three triumphs came in the seventh race of the
2015 season at Chihuahua (also known as El Dorado Speedway) and came
in dominant fashion. He led 209 of 235 laps on the way to his second
career Mexico Series victory (his first came from the pole in 2013
at Aquascalientes).
He would go on to win again on the .625-mile Chihuahua track, then
add a third victory on the one-mile oval at Mexico City in the 13th
race. By the time Garcia finished the 15-race Mexico Series, he also
had eight top-five and 12 top-10 finishes, capturing the title by 18
points over Ruben Rovelo.
Garcia will get to raise the championship trophy for a third time on
Saturday during NASCAR's Night of Champions Touring Awards banquet
at the Charlotte Convention Center. He previously did so after his
series-clinching fifth-place run at Chiapas and, again, at the
Mexico Series championship banquet.
He says the celebrating is not getting old.
Although youth is being served by his championship, Garcia thanks a
couple of his elders for putting him on his championship path: his
father, Ruben Garcia Sr., a former Mexico Series competitor, and
Ramiro Fidalgo, his veteran crew chief who had previously guided
Jorge Goeters (twice) and Rafael Martinez to Mexico Series titles.
"Eighty percent of the things I've learned about racing, I've
learned from my dad," Garcia says. "He has done everything possible
to make things easier and make the process (of becoming champion)
shorter for me."
The elder Garcia got his start in off-road racing and raced touring
series cars as recently as 2012.
Like his father, who he saw go to victory lane in 2006, Garcia
drives for Team GP, with Canel's (a chewing gum and candy
manufacturer) as his primary sponsor. Fidalgo has been with the
Canel's racing operation since the 1990s.
"I really benefitted having him and all his experience as my crew
chief," Garcia said. "We could work together and understand each
other pretty good. We had really good cars -- well-built. We had no
mechanical issues during the year."
Running his fourth full season in the Mexico Series, one thing
Garcia has learned is how to take care of his equipment. He's
finished every race in each of the last three seasons.
He has also learned to run fast. He qualified with an average
starting position of 4.0 this season and maintained that speed as
the campaign progressed. His Canel's Toyota was fast enough to lead
five of the season's last eight races.
"I really enjoy qualifying -- being able to come out early in the
morning and drive two laps as fast as you can go," Garcia says. "We
put a lot of effort into our qualifying. ... But being consistent
and being fast -- that's what we're all about."
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Garcia's joy was tempered this fall by the death of Canel's
patriarch Robert Garcia (no relation), a day after he clinched the
championship. But he fully expects to be back with Team GP and the
Canel's racing family in 2016.
He is also hoping to be part of NASCAR's Drive for Diversity
program.
"I'm hoping having a championship on my (resume) will give me a
little more of a chance at that," he said.
This season, Garcia benefitted by being part of NASCAR Next, a
program designed to help promote 12 of the top up-and-coming drivers
in the sport.
"That really helped me off the track with things like media
training, doing on-camera interviews, working with sponsors and
contacts and all that kind of stuff," he said.
A native of Mexico City, Garcia's bilingual expertise is already
paying off in corporate circles. This year he did a full week of
personal appearances on behalf of Phoenix International Raceway, and
he plans to do the same for PIR and NASCAR, engaging emerging
international markets in 2016.
--Ruben Garcia Jr. will be honored on Saturday as part of the NASCAR
Touring Series Night of Champions at the Charlotte Convention Center
/ NASCAR Hall of Fame. He will be joined on stage by the other six
touring series champions: William Byron (NASCAR K&N Pro Series
East), Chris Eggleston (NASCAR K&N Pro Series West), Ander Vilarino
(NASCAR Whelen Euro Series), Scott Steckly (NASCAR Canadian Tire
Series presented by Mobil 1), Doug Coby (NASCAR Whelen Modified
Tour) and Andy Seuss (NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour). The
event is the second of two nights of NASCAR celebrations in
Charlotte.
On Friday, the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards will
recognize the champions from 57 short tracks across North American
and Canada, as well as NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national
champion Lee Pulliam from Semora, N.C.
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