Daniel Suárez will part ways with Trackhouse Racing at the end of the season and though both sides initially framed the split as mutual, Suárez has since shed light on deeper fractures, expressing a sense of being sidelined within the organization. Yet, amid the professional crossroads, one connection remains untarnished — his bond with teammate Ross Chastain.
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The duo often spent time together away from the racetrack, building a rapport rooted in mutual respect and shared ambition. Suárez recently lauded Chastain’s driving chops, and Chastain, in turn, reflected on the foundational role Suárez played when he joined Trackhouse in 2022.
“It’s been incredible,” Chastain said. “It’s been four years together, my entire time at Trackhouse. And really, once we moved into the Concord building, it was him and I. He’s the most like-minded person outside of the car of a teammate that I’ve ever had.
“We were at the same, I feel like, parts in our careers where we had something to prove, when Justin [Marks, Trackhouse Racing team owner] hired us. We put the time in the gym. We’re like 20 pounds apart.”
Suárez was the first to suit up for Trackhouse in the Cup Series, with Chastain following a year later. Together, they set the tone in 2022, stacking up some of the best performances that helped establish Trackhouse as a competitive team.
Chastain bagged wins at Circuit of the Americas and Talladega, while Suárez secured his first Cup win at Sonoma just weeks later. In the season, the duo pulled up 21 top-five finishes, finishing P2 and P10 in the standings, respectively.
For Chastain, that’s one memory that stands above the rest, saying, “Both of us winning, seeing his excitement for me at COTA, and then me when he won at Sonoma. I parked the car where I had to, and then I ran up to the start-finish line where he was celebrating. Just seeing that come full circle for both of us.”
Their journey to Trackhouse followed similar arcs, both carrying chips on their shoulders and out to prove their worth. That mutual climb to the Cup Series summit, flowing through their career-first wins, developed a bond that went beyond stats and standings.
Still, with Suárez stepping away and few open seats left on the 2025 grid, the Mexican native faces a climactic point. He remains adamant about staying in the Cup Series and has made it clear he won’t drop down to Xfinity to rebrand or wait out the storm. For Suárez, it’s full steam ahead and whatever it takes to stay in the big leagues.
