‘I knew it couldn’t get any worse,’ Daniel Suarez on what made him sign for Trackhouse Racing after ‘hitting rock bottom’ in 2020
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Daniel Suarez
Daniel Suarez marked his legacy in NASCAR history as he reaped the reward for his years of hard work and sweat at the Sonoma Raceway couple of weeks ago. The 2016 Xfinity champion secured his first win in the cup series after 195 cup starts in the 1.99 miles road course which earned him the record of the first Mexican to win a cup race event in history. The win was a testament to the journey the 30-year-old had to make before his big break in NASCAR.
One of the earliest Drive for Diversity graduates Daniel Suarez made his way to the US from Mexico with a very limiter understanding of the culture and language of the states, but with the help of some of the amazing people he met along the way the Mexican was able to establish himself as a sought-after driver with the championship-winning ability. But luck wasn’t a part of his journey as he couldn’t capitalize on the opportunities provided to him in the series.
The Mexican made his Cup start with Joe Gibbs Racing, but couldn’t make the chance count as he was able to get only a handful of top 10 finishes in the two years he has been with the team before he made the move to Stewart Hass Racing. His SHR days were also short as he couldn’t get closer to winning other than a couple of P3 finishes which triggered his move to Gaunt Brothers Racing, which proved to be the poorest decision he made in his life.
Daniel Suarez with the Massively underfunded GBR was only able to achieve 3 top 20 finishes, all three of which are outside the top 15. All of his other finishes were disappointments throughout the season as the car failed to give the Mexican anything that can make him successful, he was down by a lot finishing 31st in the Championship table when Trackhouse came calling.
Find out what Daniel Suarez had to say about joining Trackhouse Racing in 2021
Daniel Suarez acknowledged that he knew he had hit rock bottom at the end of 2020 when he was driving for a massively underfunded Gaunt Brothers Racing team which made him realize his opportunities in the Cup series couldn’t get any worse than what he had in 2020. He went on to say that the car he drove being horrible on the race track made him what he is today, and made him tougher. Daniel Suarez pointed out that he knew that things couldn’t get any worse from his early experience when Trackhouse came calling.
“I knew in 2020 that I had hit bottom. In my mind, it couldn’t get any worse than that. It was horrible on the racetrack, but it made me who I am now, it made me tougher. I knew it couldn’t get any worse. After that, Trackhouse came to the table,” Daniel Suarez said.
How has the 2022 season been for Daniel Suarez?
The 30-year-old Mexican has so far had a wild ride in the 2022 season as his partner Chastain pursued victories while he struggled to clinch top results. Suarez’s progress has been hampered throughout the season by the No. 99 vehicle’s unreliability and tendency to enter the wrong locations at the wrong moments, as seen by the fact that Suarez has finished outside the top 20 seven times with this particular car.
With five top-10 results, two of which were in the top 5, and the victory in Sonoma, the veteran is well-positioned to contend for the title this year. Suarez must capitalize on the momentum he gained at Sonoma Raceway if he wants to win more races in the future, go to the playoff, and have a chance to win it.
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Justin P Joy
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