Community sits at the very heart of Walero. We love hearing the many stories of success from those who wear and champion Walero across the globe. In this series, we check in with our athletes in all corners of the world to find out what drives them to Get The Edge.

This month’s edition sees us introduce the latest addition to our Walero athlete ranks, Ruben Garcia Jr, who gives us a fantastic insight into his racing career so far and the highly competitive NASCAR Mexico series.

Hailing from Mexico City and bitten by the motorsport bug at a young age, Ruben began his racing journey in 1999, racing karts in various national series across Mexico and it quickly snowballed into a career that Ruben dedicated his time to pursue.

Aged 14, Ruben kickstarted his professional racing career in the supporting development series for NASCAR Mexico where he made an immediate impression with strong displays of racecraft and speed over the race distance. In tandem with his NASCAR Mexico campaign, Ruben also competed in the Mexican National Endurance Championship which added a championship title to further bolster his impressive racing CV.

Ruben’s first championship title in the NASCAR Mexico series followed in 2015 as he followed up from a hard fought second place in the championship standings the year before. He would become the youngest championship winner in the series history as he clinched the title in commanding fashion with three impressive victories and multiple consistent points scoring finishes that ensured he maintained an advantage over his rivals.

With Ruben’s championship pedigree shining through, he would secure another championship title in 2018 as he recorded three back to back wins and three podiums as he charged to the title after the series hiatus in 2016. This latest championship victory catapulted Ruben into the spotlight and he was rewarded for his efforts with selection for the NASCAR Driver for Diversity programme. This initiative gave Ruben the opportunity to display his immense talent to audiences Stateside, between 2016 and 2019, and his involvement in the programme resulted in his maiden victory on US soil at Memphis International Raceway.

“It was a dream come true,” he remembers. “When I was very little, it was a dream come true to race NASCAR in the United States. I felt like I accomplished one of my biggest dreams!”

Ruben competed in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East from 2016 to 2019 where he amassed multiple wins across various races in the US. With his success in the K&N series across the 2018 season, Ruben would also be named as the Driver of the Year in the NASCAR Touring series as he competed in yet another dual campaign.

Returning to the NASCAR Mexico series for 2019, Ruben would put all he had learnt Stateside into practice where he amassed four race wins and two podiums to clinch the title in style.

“Racing in the K&N Series you had to manage your tire wear and in Mexico everyone goes wide open every lap.  It taught me patience in the K&N car and this really helped me when I raced in Mexico as I could save my tires a little better than everyone else towards the end of races.”

“This gave me a great advantage towards the end of the season, the experience really paid off in helping me secure the title!”

After the back to back title successes in 2018 and 2019, Ruben would finish as vice champion in 2020 and 2021 as pandemic disrupted seasons resulted in plenty of wins and podiums, but the title proved to be elusive for Ruben.

2022 saw a return to championship glory for Ruben in the series, as he battled hard with the other competitors throughout the action packed season to wrap up the title in the final race of the season. This gave Ruben his fourth NASCAR Mexico title, an incredible achievement and certainly one for the record books.

Throughout his time in the series, Ruben gathered some mightily impressive accolades, he currently sits third on the all time list for victories in the NASCAR Mexico series at only 28 years old! He holds the record for the youngest Champion, race winner and pole position time and is a five time winner of the prestigious Golden Helmet award for driver excellence.

An immense talent and the very definition of #WinnersWearWalero, Ruben’s journey to achieve his goals of racing in NASCAR shows that with dedication and grit, you can accomplish anything!

You can follow Ruben’s 2023 season across his Instagram as he looks to accomplish another record breaking feat of five NASCAR Mexico championship titles.