Being a Cup Series driver is quite a demanding role. After all, going wheel-to-wheel against the best in the world at 200 miles per hour requires a tremendous amount of practice, hard work, dedication, and talent. This is why many drivers who compete at NASCAR’s highest level find it difficult to maintain a healthy work-life balance, as the role requires a lot of travel and sponsorship commitments beyond the racetrack.

However, one driver who is immune to the work-life balance dilemma is Daniel Suarez. In a social media post shared by one of the team’s sponsors, the Trackhouse Racing star unveiled the key to juggling his professional and personal life.

A key figure in Daniel Suarez’s life is making all the difference

Daniel Suarez recently tied the knot with long-term girlfriend Julia Piquet. The couple first met in 2012 and got married in an intimate ceremony in Brazil during NASCAR’s two-week-long Olympics break. Julia is the daughter of the legendary Formula 1 driver Nelson Piquet, who won the driver’s championship three times in 1981, 1983, and 1987, so it’s fair to say that she understands a thing or two about the demands that come with being a racing driver. That undoubtedly goes a long way in what makes their marriage work, especially since Suarez is traveling across the country for months on end because of the Cup Series.

Revealing the secret behind his work-life balance, Daniel Suarez said, “Sometimes it can be a little tricky because racing this is a part of my life and a very very important part of my life. It takes 90% of my time. I love racing. I love competing and if I didn’t love racing this much, I just simply, I wouldn’t be able to do it because it requires huge amount of time. But also, I’m very fortunate that I have a partner in my life. She loves racing. She enjoys racing. She enjoys going with me to a racetrack and working with myself. That makes things a little easier.”

The Mexican-American driver recently progressed into the Round of 12 in the Cup Series despite finishing 31st at Bristol Motor Speedway. A runner-up finish in the opening playoff race at Atlanta Motor Speedway helped his cause, while championship contenders struggled at Watkins Glen International, where he finished 13th. Poor results for Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Martin Truex Jr. and Ty Gibbs also worked in his favor and kept his title hopes alive going into Kansas Speedway.

With seven races remaining before the season ends, Suarez will be taking each race as it comes. The 32-year-old is far from a favorite to make it to the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway, but in a sport defined by the smallest margins, the Trackhouse Racing star cannot be ruled out just yet. If Julia Piquet is in the stands at Kansas Speedway, Daniel Suarez will have plenty of motivation going into the 2024 Hollywood Casino 400. Maybe he could pull off an upset and secure the second win of his season at the 1.5-mile tri-oval.

Could Trackhouse Racing regain speed ahead of Round of 12?

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To say that Daniel Suarez struggled at Bristol Motor Speedway would be an understatement. The Mexican-American driver never looked like he was in control of his No. 99 Chevrolet on the short track, struggling to handle his car on the 0.533-mile concrete oval. Having spent the majority of the race outside the top 30, it didn’t paint a pretty picture for Trackhouse Racing even though luck and a shrewd strategy to keep Ty Gibbs at bay helped Suarez progress into the Round of 12. Now that the stakes are higher than ever, could Daniel Suarez truly be competitive at Kansas?

Reflecting on his struggles at Bristol, Suarez said in the post-race interview, “It was a struggle. Since yesterday, when we unloaded the car for first practice, we just didn’t have the speed. As you know, with a short amount of practice, qualifying, and going to the race, if you don’t have speed out of the trailer, it’s very, very difficult to bring it back to speed. We made it better, but it wasn’t good enough. We were running 30th, 28th, 32nd all night long, and that’s what we had.”

With the 2024 Hollywood Casino 400 on the horizon, Trackhouse Racing fans will hope that the No. 99 team has spent time in the garage optimizing Daniel Suarez’s car. A repeat of Bristol’s result could have disastrous consequences for the 32-year-old, especially with races at Talladega and Charlotte Roval afterward. If Suarez has any hopes of making it to the Round of 8, he will need his car to have better speed and handling to deal with the challenges of the upcoming races.