Ruben Pardo

Busch East

Ruben Pardo is a road racing expert.  Running with Fitz put him in high regards as a world class racer.

Whether or not his future is in NASCAR's elite division is still in question, but he is making the right move by entering more into oval racing in the Busch East Series.

Pardo should learn quickly that rubbing is racing and the East Division will teach him that very quickly.  Once he experiences the fine lines of short track racing, Pardo's stock will surely rise.

Outside of filling in at road courses, Pardo's interest has been low but with national exposure, people will soon take notice.

Ruben Pardo Estevez was born June 18th 1979 in Mexico City, Mexico, the youngest of three.  His mother stayed home to take care of the children while his father was out working in the Hotel and Carwash business. On the weekends Ruben would head to the race track with his father and older brother, where it became his dream to follow in their footsteps.

At only 6 years old, Ruben first sat behind the wheel to race go-carts. But Mr. Pardo saw no future for his sons in racing, and felt it was best if he concentrated on his school work. The boys couldn’t lose sight of their dream. So on the weekends when their father was at his race track, Ruben and his brother would make their way to the dirt bike tracks with out him knowing. Temptations were high, and Ruben eventually convinced a friend to let him borrow a bike and enter the race, where he won first place. That trophy was too big to hide, and Ruben’s secret was out.

Ruben worked hard to keep up his school work, and after promising that he would go to college and get a degree, his father gave him the support needed to continue with his racing. For three years, he raced and was the champion in the Superbikes 600 C.C series. Then in 1998 he made his auto racing debut in the Dodge Neon series where he finished in the top-10 in points.

After high school graduation, Ruben kept his promise to his father and attended college in Mexico where he earned a degree in Marketing. He continued racing and winning championships while keeping up with his classes.

Alongside his brother, Carlos Pardo, the boys raced in the NASCAR Mexico series. Even with the greater competition and higher stakes, the boys swept the series- Carlos winning the 2004 championship and Ruben following close in second place.

Ruben had already won 2 races in 2005 when his life hit the wall.  While having fun with friends at the beach during his time off, Ruben was knocked unconscious when a wave crashed into his jet-ski. A life guard witnessed the accident and was able to save Ruben from drowning and get him to the hospital. He was able to fully recover. Then it got worse.

One week later, when Ruben was back in the race car, two fire extinguishers under his seat malfunctioned. They both exploded into Ruben’s legs, terribly breaking them both. The doctors said that it would be necessary to amputate Ruben’s foot, and his racing career would be over.

But Ruben said “No.”  He did not want his foot amputated and he was determined to get better. And that is what he did. He overcame all of his injuries and even went on to win his comeback race that same year. 

Not only did he compete in the full 2006 Busch East series season, but he proved that he was a winner. Ruben became the first Mexican to win a NASCAR title, the Sunoco 2006 Rookie of the Year, the Featherlite Most Improved Driver, and at the end of the year was awarded the Outstanding Motor Sport Driver at the Premios Fox Sports presented by DHL, and the Hispanic Athlete of the Year award.   He also closed out the year with a win at Lime Rock Park, and in doing so he became the first minority to win a race in NASCAR’s Busch East series.

Ruben Pardo and Fitz Motorsports with FitzContreras Racing will be racing for the championship in the 2007 Busch East series. In the Family Dollar Dodge, Ruben hopes to make this his best year yet while continuing to pave his way into the NASCAR Busch series.