Before 2021, Daniel Suárez was watching his NASCAR career slip through his fingers. After stints with multiple teams, including JGR and Stewart-Haas, he found himself bouncing around the garage with little to show. No playoff berths, no wins, and a career-best finish that barely cracked the top 15. In 2020, he didn’t even crack the top 25 in points, with a pair of 18th-place runs his only real highlights that season.

So, when Trackhouse Racing offered him a seat in 2021, it wasn’t just a contract. It was a lifeline for the driver. And to his credit, Suárez made it count. From that first year onward, he brought personality, marketability, and even a win at Sonoma to Justin Marks’ team in 2022. Just last year in February, after the Mexico-born driver had clinched a win at the Atlanta Motor Speedway the team owner had ambitiously stated, “I’m a huge, huge believer in (Suarez’s) talent and his ability, and he’s a big part of this Trackhouse family,” Marks said. “It’s our job as a company to put the tools and resources and support around him so he can go out and do the things that he did tonight.” Unfortunately, things have changed, and so apparently so have Marks’ emotions toward his prized racer.

As per a team announcement on Tuesday, the driver won’t be returning to Trackhouse Racing for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. But the 33-year-old is embracing the move with the calm perspective of a veteran. During an appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Tuesday, Suarez said, “I’m not sad. This is not sad.”

“This is just a new chapter. That’s all it is. … This is not a sad moment, it’s just a change…This is not something new for me. 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.”

Things change, people change, companies change, and it’s part of life, and there is absolutely no hard feelings about that. I’m very, very excited…”

“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…”

“I think we all are in a good place,” the veteran racer concluded. Notably, Daniel Suárez’s seat at Trackhouse was already under speculation over the last few days. But it’s his time here that marked the most stable and successful chapter of his NASCAR Cup Series career. After struggling to find footing with Joe Gibbs Racing, Stewart-Haas, and Gaunt Brothers, it was Trackhouse that gave him the platform to shine. He delivered his first career Cup win at Sonoma in 2022, then followed it up with a memorable victory in Atlanta in 2024. He’s finished inside the top 20 in points every year since 2022, including a 10th-place run the same year, his career-best.

“I’m extremely blessed to be in this position to be racing in the top level of NASCAR. Trackhouse has been an amazing home for me for several years,” Daniel Suárez summed up his experience driving for the Trackhouse team for half a decade. And their parting? Well, it didn’t come out of the blue.

As Suárez explained, “The reason why we agreed last year and did a one +1 agreement is because there were a lot of nos, and we both needed flexibility.” Indeed, the team had undergone some serious transitions. Trackhouse’s parent company welcomed an investment from Avenue Sports Fund in 2024, creating both opportunity and uncertainty in the garage. Moreover, Trackhouse has plenty of problems for the upcoming season. More drivers under contract than Cup Series rides. Thus, having four drivers meant that Suárez was likely going to be the odd man out.

In the end, Daniel Suárez remains full of praise for the team that resurrected his career. “A lot of great people there, a lot of people I consider my family. I think that we all are in a good place.” Still, there’s some way to go before the end of the 2025 season. It will be interesting to see how the remainder of the season pans out for Suárez and Trackhouse. We wish them continued success.

Daniel Suárez: Looking 2026 and beyond

With his departure from Trackhouse Racing now official, Daniel Suárez faces a pivotal crossroads in his NASCAR career. While the split was described as mutual and free of hard feelings, Suárez has made it clear he’s eager to embrace new opportunities.

“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,” Suárez said, emphasizing his optimism for the future.

While no deal is yet in place, the 33-year-old remains focused on staying at the Cup Series level, where he’s built a reputation as a trailblazer and a champion. However, with many top-tier seats already locked in for next year, his options may hinge on mid-pack or developing teams. Kaulig Racing’s No. 10 Chevrolet, currently occupied by Ty Dillon, is one possibility, but insiders suggest the team may stick with Dillon, given similar performance metrics and team dynamics.

Suárez’s marketability remains strong, especially with his continued appeal to sponsors and the Hispanic fanbase. There’s also speculation that he could return to the Xfinity Series, where he won a championship in 2016 and recently captured a victory in Mexico City.

For now, Suárez is keeping his options open, stating, “Nothing is for a lifetime. It’s time to move on and find some different opportunities.” As the “Silly Season” unfolds, all eyes will be on where NASCAR’s first Mexican-born Cup winner lands and whether his next chapter will bring him back to the front of the field.