We hope to see the ‘pinata smash’ celebration at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but Daniel Suarez had to settle for a DNF. He got wrecked when Ty Gibbs tried to squeeze between him and Todd Gilliland. Anyway, the point is Atlanta made Suarez a hero in the Trackhouse Racing Garage last season. Ross Chastain was struggling, but the Mexican with his win in the Atlanta spring race, kept hopes alive for the team. But he could not repeat that in the recent race, and it certainly could have dire consequences.

And Suarez is good at drafting tracks. Even in the playoffs last season, he almost won the Atlanta race. But Joey Logano on the final stretch got a push to the checkered from Ryan Blaney. Still, that P2 kept him alive in the playoffs before eventually getting knocked out in the round of 12. And we think it was based on his Atlanta performance that Justin Marks considered extending his contract. But just for a year! And now he’s in trouble. Picture this: he’s failed Atlanta, next up is a road course, and his possible replacement in the Cup Series is running the race. And he happens to be a prodigy!

Daniel Suarez needs COTA to work out!

One of our recent NASCAR prodigies is the 18-year-old Connor Zilisch. He was running the ARCA Series last year but also made a few Xfinity Series starts. In fact, he dominated his debut race at Watkins Glen from pole to checkered. This left everyone spellbound, including Marks and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Thus, the team boss gave him a full-time ride in the 2025 Xfinity season. Trackhouse and JR Motorsports have a partnership. So he’s running JRM’s #88 ride in 2025. But so far he’s not finished a single race in the season.

Both the Daytona race and the recent Atlanta one were a DNF for him. Still, let’s cut him some slack. Drafting tracks isn’t easy for rookies. Now, the next one is a road course and after what he did at Watkins Glen, we know he’s a favorite to win at COTA, too. More so, he’s running double duty on the weekend. But everyone’s probably eyeing his Cup appearance more.

And Zilisch is planning to make it historical. He wants to become the youngest Cup Series winner with the COTA win. “I want to try and become the youngest Cup Series winner, and to do that, I have to race as soon as possible and get it in before I turn 19. Currently, Joey Logano holds the record at 19 years. And Zilisch thinks he’s ready to win the race.

“So, you know, I wanted to at least give myself a shot at that. So that was definitely part of my thinking. And honestly, I don’t feel like there’s anything that tells me that I’m not ready to race on a road course on Sunday,” he added.

Overall, it’s likely going to be a Trackhouse dominance. Road course king Shane van Gisbergen, running his debut Cup Season, would be a front runner here and now Zilisch would join him. But the race is crucial for Daniel Suarez. He has to get a satisfactory finish at the track. And not just because Zilisch is running the race and eyeing a win. The #99 driver’s campaign so far (in 2025) has been nothing but disappointing.

He finished second last (22nd) at ‘The Clash’ at Bowman Gray Stadium. Followed by a DNF in the Daytona Duel race. It meant he did not enter the 41 driver’s field for the Daytona 500. And then a DNF at Atlanta. So technically much like Zilisch, Suarez hasn’t finished a points race so far. So COTA is crucial for him.

But to his bad luck, he’s not had a good run there, too. His best came in 2022 when he finished 24th. But surprisingly, he managed positive starts there. P2 in 2022, P5 in 2023. However, he hasn’t been able to convert them into wins or good finishes. And that’s pretty much the story of his Cup Series career so far!

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Can Suarez impress in 2025?

Suarez is in his 9th Cup Series season but has only managed to get two wins so far. In 289 starts he has made 22 top-5 finishes. Which is not shoddy, but it’s not ordinary either. And the ambitious Justin Marks looks to make Trackhouse Racing the best team. And Suarez might not cut it. Look at Marks’s plans. He’s got the ‘Project 97’ through which he brings top international talent in the sport like SVG or Helios Castroneves this year. They are in MotoGP now and even ran 24 hours of Daytona. Marks has got IndyCar plans and some F1 plans. The point is he’s moving too fast and Daniel Suarez needs to keep up or someone might replace him.

And Saurez’s best form has come with Trackhouse Racing. He ran his first season with them in 2021. And his best season so far has been the 2022 one. He’s the first Mexican driver to win a Cup Series race and a P10 season finish. The credit for success goes to running with a good team and the parity the next-gen car brought in 2022. And Suarez has capitalized well on that. But still, it’s a long way to go.

Also, it’s got to be tough to compete against someone like Ross Chastain. He took the team to championship 4 in his first season and has a winning-at-any-cost attitude. Remember the hail melon from 2022? That’s what Justin Marks is looking for!

But Suarez has got the talent. And he can prove it at COTA. Road courses are his strong suit, where he managed his best average finishes. Suarez has an average finish of 13.6 at ‘The Glen’ and 13.9 at Sonoma. So, he could actually join the Trackhouse dominance at COTA.

Maybe he too should meet up with SVG for some tips like Zilisch is! The youngster hangs out with the 3-time supercar champion and said, “I didn’t know him (SVG) six months ago, well, six to 12 months ago. I didn’t even know who he was, and I feel like now we’re pretty good friends. … It’s really cool to have those guys that, you know, give me and show me respect. You know, I appreciate it a lot, and he’s a guy that I’ve definitely leaned on and hung out with and been able to get a friend out of it.” 

Like SVG, Zilisch is also on the Red Bull roster. So there is a possibility the beverage giants plan to sponsor the youngster at the top level. That would be a hard refusal for Marks. Whatever it is, let’s hope to see a photo finish for Trackhouse at COTA.

Who do you think will win the race? And do you believe Daniel Suarez can hold on to the #99 car? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.