Even though the decision was officially made on Monday that Daniel Suarez would not return to Trackhouse Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series next season, the 33-year-old says he has had awhile to prepare for it and that this marks the turning of a page more than any kind of endpoint.
“I want to make sure that you guys and all the people listening (know) I’m not sad for this,” Suárez said during a Tuesday appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s Speedway program. “This is just a new chapter. That’s all it is. … This is not a sad moment, it’s just a change.”
Suarez was the first driver signed to the team and raced for car owner Justin Marks since 2021.
“Things change, people change, companies change, and it’s part of life, and there is absolutely no hard feelings about that,” Suarez said. “I’m very, very excited. I feel very blessed to be in this position, and I believe that there is a lot of great things happening around me with sponsors, with the Hispanic market, and everything has happened and is going to continue to happen in Mexico. I’m looking forward to capitalizing on all of these different opportunities.
“Nobody wants to be somewhere where you don’t feel valued or where they don’t love you. It has to be a two-way road, and it was that way for many years, but like I said, things change and priorities change. Nothing is for (a) lifetime. It’s time to move on and find some different opportunities.”
In a statement from both parties, they said the announcement was made on Tuesday so Suarez could pursue what comes next. But again, the decision was officially made on Monday.
“This is not something new for me,” he said. “I have known about this for a while. It just happens to be official today. I’m actually a little bit relieved it’s already out and people know about it and we can talk about it and we can move forward with future plans.”
Suarez has also been on the phone nonstop working on deals and was able to have a meeting with his team to talk about everything that has happened.
“I had lunch today with the entire (No.) 99 team, pit crew and mechanics. You have no idea how amazing it was to be able to share the news with them. I think we all are in a good place.”
Suarez is 29th in the standings with just three top-10s this season. This season began with Suarez having only signed a one-year extension. The team lost pop culture icon Pitbull as an investor and gained new ones in Avenue Sports Fund.
At the same time, the team had signed Shane Van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch, and even after cutting Zane Smith, still had one more driver under contract than seats available. He had won in 2022 at Sonoma Raceway and in 2024 at Atlanta Motor Speedway but otherwise had uneven seasons with the team.
Suarez said he suspected months ago that the changes would result in this outcome and that he’s been more at peace in recent weeks.
“At that time, we were not performing very well and new investors were coming in and there were a lot of changes,” Suarez said.
