Trackhouse owner praises Daniel Suarez, but says “it was time to move on”

When Trackhouse Racing entered NASCAR five years ago, they signed Daniel Suarez as their one and only driver. Since then, they’ve expanded with three full-time cars and a fourth, part-time entry.

The organization has finished as high as second in the championship and won 11 races, but Suarez is only responsible for two of those victories. In 2025, he is the only one of their three drivers yet to win a race, and after Shane van Gisbergen’s Chicago tirumph, Suarez is now the lowest of the three drivers in the regular season standings.

Suarez spoke to the media over the weekend about how he was feeling less important in recent months, noting how his suggestions went unheard and there “no chemistry” anymore as he and Trackhouse drifted apart.

Why it was time to “move on”

Daniel Suarez and team owner Justin Marks, Trackhouse Racing

Photo by: Todd Kirkland Getty Images

Justin Marks, who founded the team in 2021, spoke about the difficult decision to cut Suarez loose in a post-race press conference Sunday at Chicago.

“Look, Daniel has been a huge part of this company for four and a half years now,” said Marks. “When we sat down and looked at our — kind of mapped out our three-year and our five-year plan and the sponsorships and everything that we’re trying to accomplish over the next five years of the company, we just got to a point where we felt like that relationship had borne a lot of fruit for us, but it was time to move on.

“As we grow and as the team grows, obviously we have to identify different opportunities. Look, Daniel has been a huge part of this company and a great friend of mine. We met (Saturday) night, me and him in the hotel for an hour down in the lobby and we just talked about our time together, everything that we’ve accomplished together, and him and I are in a really good place.”

Marks concluded that “this isn’t a sport where you do the same thing forever,” believing this was an important step in the next chapter of the race team.

“As we grow, we just felt like it was time to wrap up that relationship and work to try to help him to find the next opportunity but continue to grow as a company what we’re trying to accomplish.”

While no announcement has officially been made, it’s expected that rising star Connor Zilisch will be promoted to Cup in 2026 with the teenager likely taking over the wheel of the No. 99 Chevrolet from Suarez.

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