Daniel Suarez Out at Trackhouse
Trackhouse Racing and Daniel Suarez announced on Tuesday that they have parted ways heading into the 2026 season. There has not been any announcement on who will replace Suarez for the 2026 season, but there is one clear favorite. Today, I want to dive into Suarez's time at Trackhouse and what the move means for both Trackhouse and Suarez moving forward.
The Announcement
Suarez's Journey at Trackhouse
The expectations for Trackhouse in the their first season were pretty low. Justin Marks wasn't the most credible person in a lot of NASCAR fans' eyes as Marks was mostly know for his wet weather racing. The hype around Suarez also was fading, especially because he just could not get it done with 2 of the best teams in the cup series. Suarez did win an Xfinity series championship in 2016, but Suarez was never as good as he was in Xfinity during his cup tenure up until that point. The first season that Suarez and Trackhouse had was an alright one. They finished 25th in points and had some decent runs throughout. They scored 4 top 10s, including a 4th place finish at the Bristol Dirt race that year. That said, Trackhouse was never much of a contender. Suarez had an average finish of 20th that year. 23XI debut the same year and finished 21st in points, though they had a pretty comparable season to that of Trackhouse. These two teams were going to be compared a lot the next few years because they came in at the same time. Prior to the season, Trackhouse added Pitbull has a partner which was huge. Trackhouse became a lot bigger with Pitbull's inclusion, who seemed to care a lot. With the debut of the Next Gen car in 2022, expectations were all over the place for what Suarez could do.
Trackhouse would expand to 2 cars in 2022 with the addition of Ross Chastain and buying up the entirety of Chip Ganassi Racing. Chastain would be tabbed to drive the 1 and Suarez continued to drive the 99. Suarez had a breakthrough 2022 season, getting his first career win at Sonoma that year. Furthermore, Suarez had the most top 5s, the most top 10s, the most laps led, and his 2nd best career average finish up until that point in his career. Suarez made it to the round of 12 that year as well, which was a huge accomplishment. While Ross Chastain had an even better season than that of Suarez by making the final 4, Suarez still had a lot to celebrate. It looked like Suarez had a home for years to come if he could continue to put together seasons like in 2022.
2023 was a setback for Trackhouse all together. Suarez missed the playoffs entirely and a regression in most statistical categories. It was not a bad year, all things considered, but it was not as good as his breakout 2022 season. Suarez would have 3 top 5s, 10 top 10s, an average finish of 19th, and 230 less laps led compared to his 2022 season. Suarez did sign a contract extension with Trackhouse at the start of the season, which kept him through the 2024 season. Ross Chastain also took a step backwards, as he was eliminated in the round of 12. Suarez was still in a decent spot though, all things considered.
Suarez was entering another contract year in 2024. Suarez did deliver though, right out of the gates in 2024 by winning at Atlanta in that thrilling 3 wide finish. This was huge for Suarez, as it meant that a lot of the pressure was off of him to perform at least for a little bit. Suarez, however, never got back to victory lane in 2024. Suarez did make the playoffs, but was eliminated in the round of 12 again. He finished with 4 top 5s, 9 top 10s, 209 laps led, and an average finish of 17.9, most of which was better than 2023. Suarez was not the worst Trackhouse car this season, as Zane Smith had a pretty dreadful rookie season. Suarez was still overshadowed by Chastain, even with Chastain missing the playoffs entirely. Suarez did sign a one year extension with Trackhouse, but it was signed quite late into the season. Suarez needed to have a really good start to the 2025 season, if he wanted to stay at Trackhouse for the long term.
The Dismal 2025 Season
2025 did not get off to a good start for Trackhouse as they announced that Pitbull would be leaving the team right before the Daytona 500. The timing of the announcement was really weird and it left a lot of people worried about Suarez's future. Suarez got off to a mediocre start to start the 2025 season. He did get a 2nd place finish at Las Vegas which was impressive but that was his only top 10 finish to start the year. He was 21st in the standings after Las Vegas. Suarez would follow that performance up with 4 finishes outside of the top 10, dropping him to 28th in the points. Suarez did get 2 top 10s in a row at Talladega and Texas, getting him back up to 25th in the points. This was Suarez's best stretch of the season, however, as he has failed to finish in the top 10 over the last 7 races.
Suarez currently sits 29th in the standings and is on pace for his worst season at Trackhouse yet. I didn't expect Suarez to bet let go until later in the season, but I think it is better to just rip the band-aid off. Suarez is a solid driver, but he's reached his ceiling in the Cup Series. He will get a win every once in a while and maybe make it to the round of 12, but he isn't doing much outside of that. Suarez being as low as he currently is in points likely accelerated the decision, but the writing was on the wall regardless for him.
The Future of the 99
I won't beat around the bush as to who I think gets this ride. It will be Connor Zilisch in that seat next season. I think this is the best move Trackhouse can make because Zilisch will have a better shot at making the playoffs than Suarez. Zilisch is a really good road course racer and he has shown improvement at the ovals in Xfinity. He just got his first career oval win at Pocono a couple weeks ago, and has 5 top 5 finishes in a row since he came back from his back injury. With how different the next gen car and the Xfinity car drives, it makes sense to want to get your young driver in that car sooner, rather than later.
The Future for Daniel Suarez
When looking at what cup teams could be interested in Suarez, there are very few that I could see him going to. He could replace Justin Haley in the 7 if Spire is adamant on getting rid of him, or possibly the 10 at Kaulig. That said, I don't really think these teams will dump Haley or Dillon for Suarez. Suarez is not that much better than Haley or Dillon at the moment, so it would not be much of an upgrade for this teams. For Suarez, both of these moves would be downgrades in my opinion. Trackhouse has 2 wins this season and they're still a really solid team. Spire is on the come up, but that 7 team is a mess. As for Kaulig, they've improved but are not better than Trackhouse at this current time. I don't really see Suarez sticking in the cup series next year.
I think it's more realistic for Suarez to drop down to the Xfinity Series. I think JRM or JGR are the most realistic spots for him in the Xfintiy Series. Suarez brings some sponsorship with him, and JGR largely depends on sponsorship to anchor their Xfinity teams. As a result, I think JGR could be a home for at least for next year. That said, I think JRM is more realistic. Suarez won at Mexico City with JRM and it seems like that could be a good fit for Suarez. A ride swap with Zilisch would not be ideal, but it would still give Suarez a chance to contend for a championship and stay with Chevrolet.
I feel bad for Suarez because he is a really likable guy. He's been through a lot and has persevered to have some really good seasons with Trackhouse. That said, Suarez just has not gotten the results as of late. I think Zilisch can come in and be just as good as what Suarez has been this year. Zilisch will be a threat on all of the road courses, and Zilisch has shown solid pace at the ovals. Even if he struggles a bit at the ovals, I think he will at least match what Suarez has done this year.
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