Back in 2019 when NASCAR announced that it was going to introduce a next-gen car that was financially friendly for team owners, Justin Marks’ ears piqued with interest. He sat in his office in California with one question running in his mind: “What is a race team?”. The answer to the question began taking shape with him knocking on the front doors of Mexican driver Daniel Suarez in 2020. Soon becoming the first driver of the newly formed Trackhouse Racing, Suarez was moving to his 4th Cup team in as many years.

3 entire seasons have passed since then behind Justin Marks’ #99 Camaro without change, and in this time, the Mexican has been joined by other drivers to shoulder the ambitions of Marks. The additions and the growth of the team beg another question. As 2024 approaches, is the seat of Suarez as certain and centred as it was back in 2021?

The threat that Daniel Suarez faces because of Shane Van Gisbergen’s cameo in NASCAR

One of the key accomplishments of Justin Marks in 2023 was the successful implementation of the Project91 program. The New Zealander Shane Van Gisbergen had come into the rings of NASCAR and won his very debut race at the Chicago Street Course, proving Marks’ program to be a great reform. The after-effects of his impressive performances were that he signed, back in September, a new deal with Trackhouse Racing that allowed him to compete in the Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series races in 2024.

After penning the deal, Justin Marks had been all praises for the driver. He said, as reported by NBC Sports, “This is going to be a tremendous challenge for Shane, but he is a tremendous driver as we have all seen. (…) It’s obviously going to be a learning process, but we think Shane will perform quite well.” While there isn’t much to be read into the words of Marks except that of goodwill for an incoming driver, there are a few factors that play a hefty role in deciding the future of Trackhouse Racing’s line-up.

First, the 34-year-old Shane Van Gisbergen has frankly voiced his interest in driving full-time in NASCAR as early as 2025. Second, Daniel Suarez did not have a very impressive season behind the #99 Camaro in 2023. Looming above both these factors is the ambition of Justin Marks to transform Trackhouse Racing into a strong force in NASCAR.

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Daniel Suarez’s unimpressive 2023 season and its implications

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The 31-year-old Daniel Suarez’s only win under the banner of Justin Marks came in 2022 in a Cup race at the Sonoma Raceway. In the season that just came to a close, he finished 19th in the standings without clearing it to the playoffs. His counterpart, Ross Chastain, on the other hand, has broken into the playoffs in both the seasons that he raced for Marks.

Daniel Suarez is not just another run-of-the-mill driver who can be used as an interim solution. He is the 2016 Xfinity Series champion, and the first non-American to win a NASCAR series. Through his years at the top level of NASCAR, he has proven his consistency and reasoned Marks’ initial choice to pick him fairly well. It is no secret that Trackhouse was formed around him and the team’s DNA is very much ingrained in him.

He said in a recent interview with NASCAR, “It’s great that Trackhouse is growing. I love that, you know. I want Trackhouse to be a powerhouse. With that being said, right now the 99 team requires some attention, and we have to work on that. We have to clean up some things and be better.” While Suarez is self-aware enough to know that the #99 team hasn’t been performing at a level that is expected at this growth stage of the team, he was also keen on making the improvements required to do his part.

In addition to the powerful cameo of Shane Van Gisbergen, the signing of Zane Smith also underlines the meanness of Justin Marks in turning his team into a feared outfit. 2023 was a season to forget for the team’s first driver. In 2024, he will get another shot at proving his calibre behind the wheel. Should he be unable to fulfil his potential by a big margin, the idea of him being replaced by Shane Van Gisbergen in 2025 will only loom larger.

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