Another period of change for Suarez – and he's embracing it

Daniel Suarez is once again embracing the winds of change as they carry him onward to the next chapter of his NASCAR career.

“The last year has been very difficult and I haven’t been happy,” Suarez tells RACER. “A lot of things have changed, like everything in life. People change. Business change. It’s OK. It’s part of it. 

“I’m just very happy that there is going to be a change because I didn’t feel like this was my home anymore for some reason. Even though I love many people (at Trackhouse), I wasn’t having fun anymore and I didn’t like that.”

Suarez has no ill will toward Trackhouse Racing and the best opportunity he’s had in the Cup Series. However, it’s the right time to do something else, which in 2026, will be driving for Spire Motorsports. It will be the fifth team Suarez has driven for in the Cup Series in 10 seasons. 

“On the competition side, I feel I’m in the best position I’ve ever been,” Suarez says. “I’m 33 years old and I’ve been in the Cup Series already for nine years. I’m probably one of the fittest drivers in the garage. I have the experience, and I still have the youth. I feel that is the prime range, and I want to make sure I use that data accordingly. So, I feel very, very good. I feel like I can bring something to the table that not many drivers can, and for that, I feel very blessed.”

It is not new for Suarez to be dealing with change, as explained by the many different teams he’s already driven for in the series. Furthermore, each chapter had its own challenges. 

Suarez, perhaps, came to the Cup Series too early when a replacement for Carl Edwards was needed at Joe Gibbs Racing in 2017. The promotion came after two years in the Xfinity Series, where he earned three wins and the series title. He lasted two years with Gibbs.

“I started in the Cup Series when I was 25 years old, and it was only my third year in the national series, so I was brand-new,” Suarez recalls. “I was learning a lot. I was drinking from a fire hose at the time.”

Stewart-Haas Racing came next in 2019, and that was all it lasted. A forgettable year at Gaunt Brothers Racing occurred in 2020, in which Suarez failed to qualify for the Daytona 500. Justin Marks brought Suarez on board in 2021 to be his flagship driver when Trackhouse Racing began. Marks spoke highly of Suarez’s talent and needing the right pieces to succeed. 

“In reality, he had no option but to believe in me,” laughs Suarez. “And I had no option but to believe in him, because it was like being with a girl on an island. I hope you like each other, because that’s all you’ve got. But it was beautiful for a long time.”

Suarez finally broke through for his first career win with Trackhouse Racing at Sonoma Raceway in 2022. The second win came in 2024 at EchoPark Speedway. In his four seasons driving the No. 99 Chevrolet, Suarez qualified for the postseason twice.

“Right now, I feel like a much better and complete driver,” Suarez said. 

Suarez rewarded Gibbs's early faith by winning the Xfinity Series title in 2016, but his call-up to the Cup Series to replace Carl Edwards the following year may have been premature. Chris Trotman/Getty Images

It’s why Suarez never feared his next move after he and Trackhouse Racing decided to part ways. And he never feared that a good opportunity would pass him by, as if his time and chance had come and gone in the Cup Series.

“Every driver’s career is unique and different,” he says. “But I am the most different because I have had to go through things that 90% of drivers don’t even understand. The way I see it, in the first few years of my career, I was with the best teams, but I wasn’t nearly ready, or I didn’t have the support or the right people around me to make me successful. A lot of circumstances happened at that point and since then, I put myself in a hole, and I’ve been trying to get myself out of that hole slowly, which Trackhouse helped me with. 

“Honestly, if you were asking me two years ago, I really wanted to be here for 10 years. I wouldn’t say that anymore this year. That’s part of life. But, yes, I actually feel the best part of my career, I promise, is in the next five to 10 years.” 

It would be easy for any driver like Suarez to become jaded by the business of racing, or lose his love of the sport through the struggles and constant movement. But he was hardened long before getting to NASCAR, and while it hasn’t rolled off his back, he knows how to deal with what has been thrown at him.

Most of Suarez’s background is well known by now. He didn’t come from a racing family and was on the verge of quitting racing when he ran out of money, but his talent caught the attention of those who mattered. He moved to the United States without speaking English (he would learn from cartoons), one friend and not much money.

But still, he caught the attention of those who matter. Joe Gibbs put Suarez in the NASCAR national series in 2014 and two years later, he was a champion. 

“I was like, man, this is easy,'” Suarez says. “'I’m going to kick their asses. This is very easy. I got this'. Well, guess what?”

What came next, the Cup Series, is history. And a tough one. But one that hasn’t defeated him.

“It’s not easy,” Suarez says. “If I didn’t have the difficult path to get here, I would be blown out right now. But in a way, life and my journey have prepared me for all of this. It is difficult. I tell people all the time when they reach out to me (from other countries) that it’s not going to be easy. The reality, and maybe some people don’t like to hear it, is that it’s going to be more difficult for us than the regular driver here in America, just because you come from a completely different world and culture. 

“It’s about relationships. You can’t make those relationships in two years. It’s a process and it’s difficult, but once you break through and you finally get under that umbrella, let’s say, you bring something to the table, and it becomes an asset.”

And that is how Suarez feels about himself ahead of his first ride in the No. 7 Chevrolet.

“I feel I can deliver something that most drivers in their 20s are still trying to figure out,” Suarez says. “It’s what is required to be successful. What I’ve learned is that it’s not just about going fast; it’s about putting the right people together. Are you happy? Are you happy doing what you’re doing right now? Are you excited every single morning? Do you have the right chemistry with the right people? How are your working relations with the rest of the group? It’s a lot. 

“To go fast is one thing, and a lot of people can go fast for a weekend. Can you do it for 38? That’s the task. You have to build that. I believe maybe only 30 or 40% of the drivers in the Cup Series can actually build something like that, and I believe I’m one of them with the experience I have acquired in the last (few) years.”