This marriage of convenience may just uplift Daniel Suarez’s Cup career. Early in the 2025 season, he sensed his NASCAR Cup Series career had plateaued at Trackhouse Racing. Then, back in July, the team had shared its decision to release the 2016 Xfinity champion by the end of the year. And that signaled to him that it was time to move on.

As he leaves his Trackhouse Racing teammates Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen behind, Suarez is signed in as Justin Haley’s replacement at Spire Motorsports for the 2026 season, and now the 33-year-old driver is over the moon with this opportunity.

Daniel Suarez crowns Spire Motorsports as the fastest-growing team

Speaking on NASCAR SiriusXM Radio, Suarez couldn’t help but back up his new team: “They have become so strong that, in my opinion, they are the fastest growing team in NASCAR. I mean, if they win a race right now, nobody will be surprised, right? Like, they just got a pole position last week. So, I think that they have just grown so much. They have invested in so many great people. They have great partners, you know, technical alliance partners as well.”

And Suarez is right in pointing that out. Just take last week, for example. Michael McDowell secured the pole position for the 2025 YellaWood 500 at Talladega, marking his eighth career pole in the NASCAR Cup Series and his second of the 2025 season. Driving the No. 71 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports, McDowell posted a lap time of 52.481 seconds, naturally edging out playoff contender Chase Briscoe by just 0.019 seconds.

This achievement is particularly significant, as it represents the company’s first-ever superspeedway pole and breaks a streak of Ford dominance in recent superspeedway qualifying sessions. Apart from having speed, Spire Motorsports is also showing its mettle in chasing wins.

Carson Hocevar, the No. 77 Spire Motorsports driver, looked poised for a breakthrough at the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Starting 14th, he dominated a large portion of the race, leading 32 laps and was on track for his first Cup Series victory. However, with just 19 laps remaining, a flat tire forced him to pit while in the lead, derailing his chances and relegating him to a 29th-place finish.

But despite the disappointment, his performance highlighted his growing potential and ability to contend at the front of the field. He had secured a second-place finish at Nashville earlier in the season, marking his best Cup Series result to date. And that type of organization, Daniel Suarez is thrilled to be a part.

Suarez added, “So, when I see Spire Motorsports, I see them in essence, progressive and getting better and better every single year. And I want to be part of that, you know. I’m not the kind of driver that I want just to be flat and just consistent and doing exactly the same thing. And I have seen the progress that they have made.”

Parting ways with Trackhouse Racing after 5 years isn’t easy because it’s the same team that led Suarez to win both of his Cup Series career wins. However, this year has been kind of a slump. He ranks 28th in the standings; however, he said that Jeff Dickerson, the co-owner of Spire Motorsports, was one of the first calls he made after learning he was out of a job at Trackhouse.

This shows that Spire wants someone with experience. And it is no secret that Justin Haley has suffered a horrible slump as well. The No. 7 car ranks 31st in the Cup Series standings with just two top 10 finishes, the lowest among his Spire teammates. And credit to Carson Hocevar for revealing Justin’s exit; this day had to come sooner or later.

Haley scored the only Cup win in Spire history with a victory at Daytona International Speedway in the July 2019 race. But following his departure from Spire, Suarez aims to bring the No. 7 car back to life despite fans sounding off on signing the 33-year-old.

Daniel Suarez is on a tight deadline with Spire Motorsports

Suarez is definitely the right pick for many reasons. Although Suarez and the 26-year-old are relatively close in the point standings, a closer look at the Mexican’s results highlights the potential he brings. He has posted two top-five finishes and seven top-ten finishes this season, and he would rank even higher than Justin if not for nine races he failed to finish due to accidents, compared with Justin’s three DNFs.

With no commitment beyond next year, Spire retains flexibility if Suarez doesn’t deliver the upgrade they are seeking. The team can then focus on what promises to be a strong free agent class in 2027, potentially pursuing a high-profile driver like Kyle Busch, whose contract expires next year and who has long-standing ties with Dickerson.

For now, however, the priority for both sides is 2026: Suarez must prove he deserves this chance while Spire aims to stop the revolving door behind the wheel of the No. 7 car.

Dickerson said, “I think when it came down to it, it’s just a thing where I think we need each other. I think all of us love a good story of redemption and giving people a platform to prove doubters wrong, so I think in this case, I think Daniel wants to show everybody that this year was an outlier, and we wanted to show everybody that the No. 7 car’s performance this year is an outlier, as well.”

It is definitely a marriage of convenience in the short term, but one that has the potential to evolve into something more over time, and now that pressure squarely lies on Suarez.