Trackhouse Racing has a hot outlook for 2025. Justin Marks’ team opened in 2021, and in four years, the team has progressed by leaps and bounds. Two new faces will join the team for 2025 – Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch – and both have glittering resumes. SVG is a three-time Supercars champion and already has one NASCAR Cup Series win and two Xfinity race wins. Meanwhile, Zilisch is a young prodigy who picked up 1 win and three top-5 finishes in just four Xfinity races in 2024.
With these fresh recruitments, what are the chances for the older lot? Although he could not crack the 2024 playoffs, Ross Chastain already owns five wins under Trackhouse. The maximum concern is about their first-ever driver, Daniel Suarez, as the Mexican driver’s resume lags behind his star-studded teammates.
A bleak future for Daniel Suarez?
Although the Mexican speedster is in his ninth season driving in the NASCAR Cup Series, he owns only two victories. Daniel Suarez has an impressive background though, having clinched the Xfinity Series championship in 2016. However, his Trackhouse Racing career has been marred by drab streaks. For instance, he went through 57 races without a trophy until finally doing it at Atlanta last year, where he won with a 0.003-second margin. After that, another drab streak followed – and seems to be continuing into the 2025 season. That should ring alarm bells for Suarez, given his new star-studded teammates.
That is what NASCAR expert Eric Estepp emphasized in his fresh YouTube video. He pointed out Suarez’s downfall with his team: “Suarez admitted that the team struggled to find consistency last year… Statistically, Trackhouse was down in 2024 compared to 2023 and 2022. That downward trajectory with the sudden rise of SVG, Connor Zilisch, has me questioning Daniel Suarez’s future.” The new drivers’ immense potential sharply contrasts Suarez’s situation. “Shane van Gisbergen – tremendous road course racer, Red Bull athlete, loyal fanbase… Connor Zilisch – he may be the most highly anticipated prospect since Chase Elliott or Kyle Larson.”
AUSTIN, TX – MARCH 24: Daniel Suarez 99 Trackhouse Racing Freeway Insurance Chevrolet flies through turn 15 during practice for the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix on March 24, 2023 at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire AUTO: MAR 24 NASCAR Cup Series EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix Icon169230324040
Even Ross Chastain has a brighter prospect as compared to Daniel Suarez. Estepp continued, “Ross Chastain is better. He has great sponsor support from Busch Light, a NASCAR premier partner. They’re putting him in their Super Bowl commercial this year.” Trackhouse is also no stranger to taking drastic decisions. Justin Marks replaced Travis Mack with Matt Swiderski before Suarez’s Atlanta victory. Estepp added, “They moved on from Zane Smith less than a year after they supposedly signed him for a multi-year deal.” So Suarez has some serious thinking to do to avoid sitting on a hot seat.
Yet Justin Marks was always confident in retaining Daniel Suarez. He has faith in the Mexican speedster, and so does Suarez’s sponsor.
Suarez is riding on faith
Well, it is true that if SVG or Connor Zilisch starts shining brightly, questions will arise about Daniel Suarez. SVG won his Cup Series debut race in Chicago in 2023, while the 18-year-old Zilisch picked up his Xfinity Series debut victory at Watkins Glen last year. However, Suarez has faced such a polarizing situation before – and lived through it. Despite Suarez being the first driver, Ross Chastain picked up the first trophy for Trackhouse Racing in 2022, at Circuit of the Americas. Then his ‘Hail Melon’ move at Martinsville the same year was a legendary moment in NASCAR. Chastain kept shining in 2023, clinching two more victories, while Suarez could not inch further than his 2022 Sonoma victory.
Despite these daunting circumstances, Daniel Suarez retained the faith of Justin Marks. And also his sponsor, Freeway Insurance, which plays a huge role in his future. Eric Estepp said, “If Freeway Insurance or Kubota or other sponsors step up, Suarez could hold onto that seat.” And team owner Marks himself gave the reassurance in early 2024: “On the hot seat? He just didn’t have the year that he wanted last year. But we know that he can get it done, and he’s a guy that can get it done. I don’t envision necessarily a situation where Daniel is not a driver for Trackhouse Racing.”
However, we can only know in the next few months. If Daniel Suarez can match the pace of his new teammates, then his seat will get another layer of guarantee.
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