Daniel Suarez’s Trackhouse Racing career ended in 2025 on a rather rough note. The fond memories he had created were soured by a complete breakdown in trust in the closing months, as he finished 29th in the standings before shifting allegiances to Spire Motorsports for 2026. In hindsight, the move has completely revitalized his career, leaving the Mexican-American driver brimming with confidence.
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He’s so confident, in fact, that he’s willing to miss arguably his biggest moment as a father in the coming weeks. In a NASCAR on FOX interview, the No. 7 driver revealed why he’s ready to make that bold decision.
“No, we race. We race. I had a conversation with Julia [Piquet] about that. You know, if this was last year, for example, it would be a no-brainer. But the way we’re running right now, being in the playoffs, the Chase, I mean, we’re one point away from finishing in the top 10 in regular-season points,” the Spire Motorsports driver said, as shared by veteran journalist Bob Pockrass on X.
Suarez and his wife, Julia, announced in April, on Easter Sunday, that they were expecting a baby. They posted a photo together on social media wearing matching ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ caps, with a caption that read: “the best is on its way.” Now, Julia’s due date is reportedly just a few weeks away, right in the middle of the Chase.
Suarez finished the regular season, which ended with a P2 finish in Daytona last weekend, in 11th place, and he’s stoked about what’s to come. He admitted to telling Julia that if things are tight in the standings, he would prefer to prioritize a championship run.
In the same interview, Suarez was also asked why he’s so bullish and what has worked so well for him and Spire Motorsports, who also have No. 77 driver Carson Hocevar in the Chase. Suarez acknowledged that they are by no means perfect, but praised the environment they’re a part of. And truly, Spire has gone from an underdog team making noise among the big boys to one that is actually making a statement.
“There’s still a lot of room for improvement, but from what I was used to before, definitely just more speed and a better system,” Suarez added.
Personally, he doesn’t feel that 2026 has made him a better driver. He simply feels that he has the right car underneath him, compared to last season when he was fighting for spots outside the top 20. Something that just didn’t bring out the best in him. Now, he’s rubbing shoulders with the best drivers in the Cup Series more often, and that has given him a different perspective. As a result, he admitted, his driving style has changed slightly.
2026 has not been his best Cup Series regular season, despite his Coca-Cola 600 win in May. It could be argued that 2022 was. In his second year with Trackhouse, he finished 10th in the standings with a win in Sonoma, five top-5s and 11 top-10s. He advanced from the Round of 16 in the playoffs but could not get out of the Round of 12. This year, he will be hoping for a more meaningful run in the postseason, especially considering the elimination format has been scrapped.
After the points reset, Suarez sits in 11th, five points behind RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher in front of him. His gap to championship leader Denny Hamlin is 75 points. It’s a sizeable gap, but nothing that a consistent run of top-five finishes — or preferably for him, a win — can’t diminish.
Suarez will, of course, hope that his child is born when he can be with Julia. But the priority is the Chase, which will take up his weekends for 10 weeks in a row now. The showdown begins with Darlington this Sunday, 6th September.