Despite Losing Out on JGR Dream, Daniel Suarez Claims He Wouldn’t ‘Trade Trackhouse’

If becoming the first-ever Mexican driver to win the Xfinity Series championship wasn’t enough, Daniel Suarez took it one step further in 2022 when he won at Sonoma with two-year-old Trackhouse Racing. This win was particularly important to Suarez for two reasons.

First, it granted the international speedster a well-deserved contract renewal with Trackhouse just before the onset of the 2023 season. Second, after bouncing around three premier-tier organizations, including the likes of Joe Gibbs Racing & Stewart-Haas, it seemed like Suarez had finally found his permanent home in Justin Marks and Pitbull’s ‘House.’

But following what many claimed to have been a lackluster season last year, some suggested that the Sonoma win was only a one-off and that Suarez may, once again, be warming a hot seat in the #99. That is until a heart-stopping three-wide win at Atlanta earlier this year locked him into the playoffs for only the third time in his eight-season-long Cup Series career. Now, awaiting a well-in-due contract renewal, it appears that the allure of these “bigger teams” could barely hold a light on Daniel Suarez’s burning desire to elevate Trackhouse.

Daniel Suarez finds a voice, a home, and a future at Trackhouse

The argument against Suarez has more often than not been that of consistency, especially considering the #99 driver visited victory lane in Atlanta, breaking a 57-race winless streak, since his debut win in 2022. The foreign flavor has undeniably placed an unhealthy amount of attention on his career, potentially disadvantaging him with a shorter timespan than most to make a permanent mark.

After all, Suarez was only given two top-division seasons at Joe Gibbs Racing after winning the 2016 Xfinity Series championship for the organization. From the get-go, it was apparent that replacing Carl Edwards in the #19 would be a tough task for the Mexican rookie. Nevertheless, JGR decided they’d seen enough when the team parted ways with Suarez preceding the 2019 season after he registered only four top-5s in two years of driving the #19 Toyota.

2019 brought in more woes for Suarez. Ironically, this time it would be Stewart-Haas Racing who added to his adversities in pursuit of a high-speed American dream. Replacing Kurt Busch in SHR’s #41 Ford, the future Trackhouse star was again, given only one season to prove himself. The next year was more of the same. But this time Gaunt Brothers Racing, the team that signed Suarez following his ‘surprise’ dropping from Stewart-Haas, shut down its doors one year after he joined its ranks. 

In 2021, as co-owner Justin Marks had told Forbes that Daniel became “employee No. 4 at Trackhouse.” The other three, Ty Norris, Armando “Pitbull” Perez, and Marks himself, kicked off their team ownership ventures in the Cup Series, with Suarez becoming their first-ever driver. Steadily, Trackhouse would grow to become a two-car organization as Ross Chastain joined Suarez in 2022 to drive the #1 car.

Most would argue that it is Chastain, instead of Suarez, who has been bringing all the attention to the new-age race team since then with his all-American appeal and four race wins compared to his teammate’s two. However, this season it is Chastain who is yet to claim a victory as Suarez stakes his claim boldly for another contract at Trackhouse once his current one expires at the end of the 2024 season. 

Last week at Gateway, Suarez spoke to Bob Pockrass regarding his uncertain contract situation with uncharacteristic positivity. As it stands, it appears the Monterrey native is certain of a new contract. Although the timeline remains unknown, Suarez has buried his sketchy past and is only determined to grow the global appeal of Trackhouse Racing further. He explained, “You know when I was at Gibbs. I was hoping I was gonna make my career at Gibbs and I was gonna grow and be one of those drivers like Denny Hamlin, like Kyle Busch. Those drivers that made a long career in one place. Unfortunately, it wasn’t in the cards for me, and after that, I was bouncing from team to team, until now finally, I found the place where they don’t just believe in me but also my voice has a weight, you know.”

The first Mexican Cup Series race winner talked about some enviable perks that he did not receive in his previous stints at other organizations. “I am able to make adjustments in my team, and in the organization based on what I see, what I feel. And they’ve been giving me the opportunity to build the organization the way I think It should, and especially the #99 team. So, yeah to answer your question. I feel like I found a home and that’s why I went straight to Trackhouse than anything else, just because I have been in top organizations in the past, and if you don’t have a voice, It’s very difficult to be successful. So, I think I have that in Trackhouse and we’re still a young team and I feel like the future. It’s very bright for the 99 and for Trackhouse.”

“Today, I wouldn’t trade Trackhouse for any other team, doesn’t matter which one it is. Doesn’t matter if it’s Gibbs, Hendrick, or whatever. And the reason for that is for how they believe, the entire organization believes in each other. How they’re giving the opportunity to grow the #99 team. Those are the things I didn’t have in the past and to me that can be the difference between, being a good team and a great team. I am not saying we are a great team just yet, but we have the potential to do it,” concluded Daniel Suarez.

Regardless, approaching Sonoma this weekend, the same track Suarez used to prove all his haters wrong back in 2022, he has been quietly resurgent. With one win and only another solitary top-5, the whispers have returned to haunt Suarez again, hinting at Trackhouse’s packed roster, eager to take over any seat that frees up. However, the current scenario does not suggest that fate for Suarez or his race team come next year. If anything, the NASCAR world could even be shocked to see a third Chevy gracing Trackhouse Racing’s garages, alongside its #99 and #1.

Potential plans for the ‘House’ with a superstar talent pool

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With the news of four starting spots, six drivers, and around 300 employees already up for grabs following the announcement of Stewart-Haas Racing’s unfortunate 2025 fire sale, Trackhouse Racing’s expansion plans, just like 23XI and Front Row Motorsports, have shifted into top gear.

Justin Marks’ race team has been heavily rumored to be adding a third entry to its Cup Series operations, especially since the depth of talent currently swimming inside Trackhouse warrants another full-time charter. From Zane Smith, currently on loan driving Spire’s #71 Chevy full-time, to Shane van Gisbergen, handling the #97 Kaulig Racing Camaro in the Xfinity Series, the options are endless for a third driver, if the race team does decide to play ball on the rumors for a third car.

But in another light, Daniel Suarez can breathe a sigh of relief as an established driver with his top-tier teeth cut to the full. Moreover, Trackhouse brought in Matt Swiderski as the #99 team’s crew chief only a few months ago, to accommodate their driver even better. As Marks confirmed in the same interview with Forbes, “I don’t envision necessarily a situation where Daniel is not a driver for Trackhouse Racing. There’s a lot of things going on behind the scenes, and this is why we made a change at crew chief. This is why we made a change with some of the people around him and the process is to put him in a position where he can win because Trackhouse is a winning company.”

Adding to the green signals, Suarez was only recently granted dual citizenship after 12 years in the States. A win at Sonoma could push away much of the clouds hanging like a bad omen over his future and give him the perfect momentum boost he may need before contending in the eventual playoffs.

But he will have to battle some incredibly hungry drivers aiming to make those last few spots their own for a chance at ultimate championship glory. One of them drives for the same team, and his name is Ross Chastain. Will the teammates take Trackhouse to the next level side-by-side with no distractions? Or will the ‘House’ face disappointment yet another time in 2024?