In a few days, the NASCAR Cup Series field will be flying to Mexico City for its first-ever points-paying race in an international destination. The historic event has been scheduled to go down on June 15 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. While this will be a truly special occasion for Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez, a native of Monterrey, Mexico, there is also a heavy reason for him to stress over.
Advertisement
The No. 99 driver’s contract with his team is yet to be extended beyond the 2025 season. The uncertainty surrounding the same is actively distracting him from focusing on performing to the best of his abilities in front of his home crowd.
He admitted to NASCAR.com, “Definitely, it’s a distraction. I won’t sit here and tell you that it doesn’t really matter. It’s definitely a distraction.”
But this is not the first time that he has found himself in such a corner. Suarez was in his contract year in 2024 before being re-signed. A key reason for the last-minute extension was that he secured his playoff spot with a thrilling win at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. There hasn’t been a similar occurrence in 2025 so far. He remains winless after the first 14 races of the season.
So, unless he pulls a magic trick out of his sleeve soon, there is no guarantee that he will be retained at the end of the year. Contract negotiations are ongoing at the time of this news piece being written.
This would be a pressured situation for any driver. But Suarez is being as wise as he can and trying to put it in the back of his mind to focus on delivering a superior performance.
“I’m trying to be as smart as possible and to put all this stuff on the side and to just do my thing on the track,” he declared. “And already the Mexico race is something that I’ve been hoping and waiting for many, many years, and I’m not going to let anything else from outside take that week and that moment from myself.” Apart from this, he has also been heavily involved in promotional activities for the event.
Typically, he visits his family in Mexico once or twice a year. But he has been there five times already in 2025 to promote the inaugural Cup Series race.
Even his harshest critics will have to agree that he deserves to be lauded for handling all these tasks alongside each other. But unfortunately, a few claps are all he will get for his efforts if he fails to do a good job on the track.
He is currently ranked 28th in the points table with three top-10 finishes. He strongly believes that far better results will come his way if his team finds a way to execute their potential.
His next race, in Michigan on June 8, will be an opportunity for him to clear his mind and build some much-needed confidence. Once that’s gone by, it will all be between him and millions of expectant Mexican fans.
