"It was time to move on": Marks on impending Trackhouse/Suarez split

Justin Marks says he holds Daniel Suarez in high regard but admitted that it was time to move on from their partnership after both sides announced they will part ways at the end of the season.

Marks, the founder of Trackhouse Racing, had quite the week leading into and at Chicago Speedway. It started with Suarez and the team posted on social media early in the week that they have agreed to part ways after five seasons together, during which, to date, they have achieved two wins and two playoff appearances. 

“As far as results, I don’t know,” Marks said Sunday night. “Daniel has been a huge part of this company for four and a half years now, and when we sat down and mapped out our three year and our five year plan, and the sponsorships and everything that we’re trying to accomplish over the next five years of the company, we just got to a point where we felt like that relationship had borne a lot of fruit for us but it was time to move on. So, as we grow and as the team grows, obviously, we have to identify different opportunities.”

Suarez is the only Trackhouse Racing driver who has not won this season. Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen are both looking at postseason berths through their wins, while Suarez and the No. 99 team are 29th in the championship standings and looking at a must-win to join them there. Connor Zilisch, meanwhile, is winning races in the Xfinity Series and running a limited Cup Series schedule.

When the series got to the Chicago street course, Marks watched van Gisbergen sweep the weekend with Xfinity Series and Cup Series poles and victories. Zilisch finished second to van Gisbergen in the Xfinity Series race on Saturday, and felt maybe he now owes his teammate one after how he was raced into Turn 1 on the final restart.

Suarez, meanwhile, offered his honest thoughts to the media over the weekend about his impending separation from the organization. Among his comments about the loss of chemistry and love, he revealed he didn’t feel his voice was heard, and he hasn’t felt as important lately.

“Daniel has been a huge part of this company and a great friend of mine,” Marks said. “We met (Saturday) night, me and him, in the hotel for an hour down in the lobby and we talked about time together, everything that we’ve accomplished together, and him and I are in a really good place. 

“It’s just that this isn’t a sport where you do the same thing forever. As we grow, we just felt like it was time to wrap up that relationship, and work to help him try to find the next opportunity, but continue to grow as a company (in) what we’re trying to accomplish.”