NASCAR insider says popular driver's future may depend on one key factor

Daniel Suarez's future at Trackhouse Racing could hinge on one key factor, according to a NASCAR insider.

Suarez has been with Trackhouse since the 2021 season, driving the No. 99 Chevrolet in each of the last five seasons and winning two races during that time.

However, the Mexican driver, who was the ninth most popular NASCAR driver in terms of merchandise sales in 2024, is out of contract at the end of the year, with a report now highlighting a scenario that could see him part ways with his team.

According to Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic, Trackhouse's 2025 driver lineup will depend on whether or not they feel Xfinity Series driver Connor Zilisch is ready to step up to the Cup Series.

And, if it is deemed he is ready, Trackhouse will have to decide whether to keep Suarez or Shane van Gisbergen around, with Ross Chastain contracted for the foreseeable future.

Bianchi does reiterate, though, that the team must also prove to Suarez that he can be competitive.

Will Daniel Suarez stay at Trackhouse Racing?

Last August, Suarez signed a contract extension with Trackhouse, but it was only a one-year deal. Whilst at the time the Mexican driver confirmed that there are options to make the deal longer should both parties wish to do so, he suggested this would only happen if performances improved.

“There is a lot of things in the contract that activate longer if we both decided that is the right thing to do,” Suárez explained last August.

“There is a lot of things in Trackhouse that are adjusting and changing. Performance-wise, we’re not exactly where we want to be — not just in the 99 but in Trackhouse as a company, and we have to make sure that we fix that before we want to go any longer. This goes really both ways.

“I think that 2022, we started extremely strong in Trackhouse with the Next Gen car, 2023 was strong, and 2024 hasn’t been as good as we were expecting. So we have work to do.

"We believe that we know where we’re heading, and we have already some things in our back pocket that we’re working on behind the scenes. But we have work to do, so hopefully that work gets reflected on track.”

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So far this season, Suarez's best finish was a second-place at Las Vegas, but other than that, the No. 99 driver has not finished inside the top 10 once.

In fact, across the opening nine races, Suarez's average finishing position has been 22nd.

It will certainly be interesting to see what happens moving into the rest of this season and next, then, with the decision to only sign a one-year deal mutual, according to the star.

“It was Trackhouse and also myself, because, like I said, I want to win," Suarez also explained at the time of his last extension.

" They want to win, too. But like I said, we have some things in our contract that if tomorrow, things start heading in the right direction the way that we’re working, that contract is going to change very quickly by itself, so we want to make sure that we are clicking and competitive the way we want.

"I don’t want to run 15th. They don’t want to run 15th. But it’s not a secret, this year has been a struggle for Trackhouse performance-wise.”

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