Victor Gonzalez Jr. (born July 18, 1975) is a Puerto Rican professional

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...

driver. He last competed part-time in the

NASCAR Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level NASCAR Cup Series, Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a Undercard, support ...

, driving the No. 17

Chevrolet Camaro The Chevrolet Camaro is a mid-size American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, classified as a pony car. It first went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed to compete with the Ford Mustang. The Camaro sha ...

for

Niece Motorsports Niece Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Owned by Al Niece, it currently fields the No. 42 Chevrolet Silverado full-time for Matt Mills (racing driver), Matt ...

. Twice a competitor in the

24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car racing, sports car Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Flo ...

endurance race, he became the first Puerto Rican driver to compete in a top level NASCAR series when he broke the barrier in 2009.

Racing career

05VictorGonzalezJr2010Bucyrus200RoadAmerica

99 Victor Gonzalez Jr 2012 Road America Sargento 200

Gonzalez began his racing career in 1990 in showroom stock cars in his native country, Puerto Rico. He spent several years competing in

touring cars Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition that uses race-prepared touring cars. It has both similarities to and significant differences from stock car racing, which is popular in the United States. While the cars do not move a ...

, including two races in the North American Touring Car Championship, before switching to

open wheel An open-wheel car is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have their wheels below the body or inside fend ...

competition in 1997, competing in the

Barber Dodge Pro Series The Barber Dodge Pro Series was an American open-wheel auto racing series promoted by the Skip Barber Racing School from 1986 to 2003. It was one of the first professional spec series for open-wheel racecars in North America. The races were prima ...

for two years. Then, after two years in the Dominican Republic GTS Cup, moving to the Toyota Atlantic Championship in 2002, he competed in the series' companion event to the

Grand Prix of Long Beach The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. It was the premier race on the CART/Champ Car Worl ...

, finishing 21st. In 2003, he returned to the Barber Dodge series, where he finished 20th in points, posting a best finish of 2nd following winning the pole at

The Milwaukee Mile The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectat ...

. He established a reputation as an excellent driver on road courses, and became the only Puerto Rican driver to become an instructor at the

Skip Barber Racing School The Skip Barber Racing School is an American racing and driving school. Skip Barber founded the school in 1975. History In 1975, Skip Barber started the Skip Barber School of High Performance Driving at Riverside International Raceway. In 19 ...

. In 2005 and 2006, Gonzalez competed in the

endurance race, co-driving a

Porsche 911 The Porsche 911 model series (pronounced ''Nine Eleven'' or in ) is a family of German two-door, high performance Rear-engine design, rear-engine sports cars, introduced in September 1964 by Porsche, Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. Now in it ...

for Team Sahlen. He finished 9th in both events. Gonzalez made his debut in NASCAR competition in 2009, as a

road course ringer In NASCAR, a road course ringer, also known as road course specialist, road course expert, or a road runner, is a non-NASCAR driver who is hired by a NASCAR Cup Series or NASCAR Xfinity Series team to race specifically on road courses. , current ...

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, also spelled ''Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve'' (), is a motor racing Race track, circuit on Notre Dame Island in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the venue for the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA Form ...

in the Nationwide Series

NAPA Auto Parts 200 The NAPA Auto Parts 200 Presented by Dodge (French title: ''NAPA Pièces d'auto 200 présenté par Dodge'') is a discontinued NASCAR Nationwide Series race that took place at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 2007 to ...

, driving the No. 05 Ford for Day Enterprises. He became the first Puerto Rican driver to compete in a NASCAR national touring series event, finishing 14th in his inaugural event. Gonzalez returned to the No. 05 for four races in 2010, making his oval track debut at

Phoenix International Raceway Phoenix Raceway (formerly known as ISM Raceway from 2018–2020, Phoenix International Raceway from 1964–1973 and 1976–2017, and FasTrack International Speedway from 1973–1976) is a dogleg oval track in Avondale, Arizona. The track has ...

; his best finish of the year came at Montreal where he finished 16th. In 2012, Gonzalez returned to the Nationwide Series, driving the No. 99 Toyota for

RAB Racing RAB Racing with Brack Maggard was an American professional stock car racing team that attempted races in the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series, Craftsman Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series. The team was co-owned by Robert A. Benton Sr. and h ...

Road America Road America is a motorsport Road racing, road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the IndyCar Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship, Sports Car Club ...

in June, where he finished 17th, and at

Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track in the Northeastern United States, northeastern United States, located in Dix, New York, just southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, New York, Watkins Glen, at the ...

in August, where he finished 16th. Victor Gonzalez Jr

In April 2013, it was announced that Gonzalez would make his NASCAR

Sprint Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

debut, driving the No. 36 Chevrolet for

Tommy Baldwin Racing Tommy Baldwin Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the modified ranks. The team is based in Mooresville, North Carolina, and is owned by former crew chief Tommy Baldwin Jr., son of the late modifie ...

in races at

Sonoma Raceway Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway, Golden State International Raceway and Infineon Technologies, Infineon Raceway) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains of Sonoma County, Cal ...

and

that summer. He was the first Puerto Rican driver to start a Sprint Cup race. Gonzalez and

made an agreement in June 2017 to have Gonzalez drive Niece's No. 45 truck at

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport Park and Mosport International Raceway) is a multi-Race track, track motorsport venue located north of Bowmanville in Clarington, Ontario, Canada, approximately 75 kilometers (47 miles) east of To ...

that summer.

Motorsports career results

Barber Dodge Pro Series

NASCAR

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Sprint Cup Series

Xfinity Series

Camping World Truck Series

Season still in progress
not eligible for series points

North American Touring Car Championship

( key)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Victor Jr. Living people 1975 births Sportspeople from San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican racing drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers NASCAR drivers Atlantic Championship drivers Barber Pro Series drivers Global RallyCross Championship drivers Michelin Pilot Challenge drivers North American Touring Car Championship drivers