Victor Gonzalez Jr. on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Victor Gonzalez Jr. (born July 18, 1975) is a Puerto Rican professional
Gonzalez began his racing career in 1990 in showroom stock cars in his native Puerto Rico; he spent several years competing in touring cars, including two races in the North American Touring Car Championship, before switching to 
In April 2013, it was announced that Gonzalez would make his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut, driving the No. 36 Chevrolet for Tommy Baldwin Racing in races at Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen International that summer. He was the first Puerto Rican driver to start a Sprint Cup race.
Gonzalez and Niece Motorsports made an agreement in June 2017 to have Gonzalez drive Niece's No. 45 truck at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park that summer.
not eligible for series points
stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...
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 Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
, driving the No. 17 Chevrolet Camaro for Niece Motorsports. 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 endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layou ...
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
Gonzalez began his racing career in 1990 in showroom stock cars in his native Puerto Rico; he spent several years competing in touring cars, including two races in the North American Touring Car Championship, before switching to open wheel
An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula 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 thei ...
competition in 1997, competing in the Barber Dodge Pro Series for two years, then, after two years in the Dominican Republic GTS Cup, moving to the Toyota Atlantic Championship in 2002, where he competed in the series' companion event to the Grand Prix of Long Beach, 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. 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.
In 2005 and 2006, Gonzalez competed 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 endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layou ...
endurance race, co-driving a Porsche 911
The Porsche 911 (pronounced ''Nine Eleven'' or in german: Neunelfer) is a two-door 2+2 high performance rear-engined sports car introduced in September 1964 by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a rear-mounted flat-six engine and origin ...
for Team Sahlen. He finished 9th in both events.
Gonzalez made his debut in NASCAR competition in 2009, as a road course ringer at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in the Nationwide Series NAPA Auto Parts 200, 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 is a 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona, near Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually including the final championship race since 2020. P ...
; 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 at Road America
Road America is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, United States on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Champ ...
in June, where he finished 17th, and at Watkins Glen International in August, where he finished 16th.
In April 2013, it was announced that Gonzalez would make his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut, driving the No. 36 Chevrolet for Tommy Baldwin Racing in races at Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen International that summer. He was the first Puerto Rican driver to start a Sprint Cup race.
Gonzalez and Niece Motorsports made an agreement in June 2017 to have Gonzalez drive Niece's No. 45 truck at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 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 progressnot 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