I remember when Trackhouse pinned Daniel Suarez as their inaugural driver for Justin Marks’ debuting Cup Series program. They opened up shop as a single car team after the 2020 season and hired a diverse, seemingly up and coming driver, much like 23XI and Bubba Wallace.

I watched him take the 99 in its first season back and almost win Bristol Dirt. I saw that car cross the smoldering asphalt of Sonoma Raceway for Trackhouses then second ever win in 2022 and then I witnessed him beat two other drivers by a smidge of a millisecond for one of the sports most viral moments ever in 2024. 

So, six years since the introduction, what’s Suarez up to?

Currently, fighting for a series ride in a contract year with Spire Motorsports in the #7. Five races in, he finds himself beefing with his old employer rather than tuning out the noise and focusing on what’s in front of him. 

The seed seemed to be planted last season, when after it was announced that Suarez would be leaving Trackhouse (conveniently the year before Connor Zilisch made his debut), Suarez noted he felt “undervalued”, and that the team’s focus had shifted since his hiring.

Being the inaugural driver, the split was framed as mutual, and the Mexican driver got his flowers as the season ended, but 2026 has been an entirely different story. 

So far in six races (one being exhibition), coincidence or not, Suarez has been involved with a Trackhouse driver in nearly every single one. First he gives every Trackhouse member the fender at Bowman Gray, then he spins Connor Zilisch out on a restart at COTA, and now it seems there’s an issue with Ross Chastain. 

The two exchanged words after yesterday’s Las Vegas race and Chastain seemed particularly fed up, even seemingly proclaiming to Suarez “You got fired!” This came after an admittedly small altercation post race where Chastain doored an apologetic Suarez. 

Sheesh. Bit of a stretch from when Chastain said Suarez was “the most like-minded person outside of the car of a teammate that I’ve ever had”. 

Suarez immediately responded, noting that Chastain’s behavior is nothing new, and that he’s been a bit “two-faced” during their entire time together. If there’s one group that’s winning through all of this searing beef, it’s the Trackhouse PR team for keeping those guys cordial for five years. 

Part of me feels like Ross’ frustration could stem from just how bad he, and much of The House, has been running, and the perceived disrespect from Suarez over time could set him off, but none of this bodes well for Suarez.

In a crucially important season for the driver, wouldn’t it make more sense to pretend like it just never happened? I understand this seems to be more of a messy breakup than it was led on to be, but Suarez is heating up beef that should be frozen, because does he really have the time for this?

Yes, Daniel Suarez is one of the more well off guys in the garage when it comes to connections and funding, so his time in Cup really SHOULDN’T end at Spire if his contract isn’t renewed, but then what? Is there another team even close to competitive that would have him around?

All this being said, the #7 team is currently 17th in points, which is better than every Trackhouse driver sans SVG, who’s in 16th place respectively. Suarez may have the time to cook some beef right now, but it wouldn’t hurt to not get caught up in the sinking ship of Trackhouse, which seems to be losing speed weekly. 

By the time October rolls around, what will Suarez value more? Serving it to the team that found no use in continuing with the driver they built it around, or securing a competitive ride beyond 2026? It’s a worthwhile question. 

Time never ceases, and the fact it’s been four long years since Suarez’ Sonoma victory, his first in the series, says enough. When that #99 Onyx Chevrolet Camaro crossed the finish line, and Suarez proudly flew the Mexican flag in one of the series most diverse venues, it felt like the beautiful blue sky in Sonoma County was the limit. 

Things certainly change. There are circumstances that aren’t under our control and ones that are, but what’s done is done. If Daniel Suarez feels like serving it to the man is what will fulfill him, then he can go right ahead. It’s good TV. 

As a driver though, I know Suarez wants that same feeling he had in California and Atlanta again, and more often.

So what’ll it be Daniel? There’s two ways to show Justin Marks he was wrong; Being a pest at the track or pulling the car into victory lane. The former feels a bit more substantial than the latter.