Going to Las Vegas, Daniel Suarez was closer to getting fired from Trackhouse Racing than winning the race. But the No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro driver surprised the world by nearly reaching victory lane. He lost out to Josh Berry by 1.358 seconds and settled for second place. While it was still a convincing result, he couldn’t help but wallow in the missed opportunity to win.
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The final and ninth caution of the race came in Lap 249. Suarez and Josh Berry, the race winner, restarted alongside each other. On Lap 254, Berry nosed ahead and took the lead from Suarez.
Ross Chastain tried his best to push his teammate ahead, but it was useless. Suarez’s car made too much contact with the bumps on the racing surface in Turns 1 and 2. He might have sustained the lead had it been better in the short run. Berry then used the clean air between Suarez and himself to widen the gap and win the race.
Suarez told the press after the race, “If we were finishing second ten seconds out of the lead, I would be extremely happy. But I feel like we had everything to be able to get it done.”
“Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get it done right there at the end for my team.” The result carried many positives. It ended a three-race skid of finishes 23rd or worse for him. It was also his best result since the second race at Atlanta last year. Hopefully, he will be able to gain some momentum from here and secure his future with Trackhouse Racing.
“The [No.] 99 has been running very well lately. We’ve been getting wrecked for one or another reason.”@Daniel_SuarezG proud of a great finish of second after a string of wrecks to start the season, earns best finish for @TeamTrackhouse in 2025.
: @m_massie22 pic.twitter.com/YG5OxgfPu1
— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) March 17, 2025
How real is the possibility that Suarez could leave Trackhouse?
Justin Marks, the owner of Trackhouse Racing, has big ambitions for the team. He made it a three-car operation this year, with Shane van Gisbergen in the third entry. The one thing he cannot afford at this point is mediocrity. Unfortunately, that’s what he has been getting from Suarez for a while now.
The driver has not finished a race twice in the last three races alone. His finishes don’t instill a whole lot of confidence when he finishes races, either.
Moreover, Pitbull is no longer a part of the ownership group of the team. The musician was a close friend of Suarez and is believed to have played a part in keeping him in the team.
Marks has other attractive options to replace Suarez. The young Connor Zilisch is one of them. The 18-year-old had impressed fans in the Circuit of the Americas (his debut race) before Suarez collided with him and wrecked them both out. In light of all these situations, the rest of 2025 is set to be a crucial period for Trackhouse Racing.
