NASCAR insiders concerned for Daniel Suárez Trackhouse future after SVG Mexico win

It was an incredible weekend for Daniel Suárez in Mexico City. He was able to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series race in his home country, but Sunday’s Cup Series race, where his teammate Shane van Gisbergen was victorious, was an unfortunate reminder of his future at Trackhouse.

At the moment, it seems as if Suarez is the odd-man out with the team. Connor Zilisch is waiting in the wings, and Ross Chastain will round-out the three-man team with SVG. Even after all the positives that took place south of the border, Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic tried to make sense of a sobering weekend for Suarez.

“This is why Justin Marks hired (SVG). As good as this weekend was for Daniel Suarez — this was a dream weekend for him. He gets all the attention, the race is pulled off and he’s able to bring everybody to his home country. He has this unbelievable Xfinity win. He gets this unbelievable moment — goosebumps, chills, all that stuff,” Gluck stated, via the latest episode of The Teardown.

“The next day, he goes out and the guy he’s potentially competing against for his ride, to save his job in the Cup Series, wins his way into the playoffs, while Suarez is a non-factor most of the day. Now it’s like, if you’re Suarez, how do you even — what do you do, moving on from this weekend? … In some ways though, I also think, if you’re Suarez, obviously you want to be at the Cup level. But I think the Xfinity win is a reminder of, ‘Oh yeah, I can go down into Xfinity, I can win races.’ It doesn’t mean his career is over.”

In response, Bianchi agreed, believing the only way Suarez stays with Trackhouse is if they decide to keep Zilisch down in the Xfinity Series for another go-round. If not, he’s going to have to evaluate his option for 2026 and beyond.

“It was always going to be that way. Unfortunately, I guess you’re saving grace in this is if Trackhouse decided that Connor Zilisch needs another year of Xfinity Series racing full-time. If Connor stays in the Xfinity Series full-time, Trackhouse has an opening on the Cup side, and presumably Daniel would stay in that ride. But if they decide that Zilisch is ready to move up, and you could make a case either way, it’s really hard to see. It’s pretty obvious, the pathway for Suarez with Trackhouse just isn’t there, because SVG now has as many wins as Suarez in the Cup Series,” Bianchi added.

“… (SVG has) a contract for next year. Suarez doesn’t. So, what do you do? Unfortunately, the reality is that Suarez is probably out at some point. It’s a tough pill to swallow, because one day you’re on top of the world and the next day it’s like a stark reminder of, ‘Oh man, this is my future is. It’s looking bleak.”

Should Daniel Suarez race in the Xfinity Series in 2026?

One interesting tidbit from Bianchi was him believing it’ll work to Suarez’s advantage if he goes down to the Xfinity Series in 2026, provided Trackhouse moves Zilisch to Cup. That could open the door for him to return to the top-level with a better ride in 2027, if he takes care of his business in the second-tier series.

“If I’m him, and I’m looking at this situation, maybe it is more advantageous to go down to the Xfinity Series for a year, win races, contend for a championship, and then you look ahead to free agency a year for now — it’s going to be absolutely crazy. Like, there are so many openings next year with really, really good teams — potential openings with really, really good teams,” Bianchi explained.

“Make yourself a candidate. Go down to the Xfinity Series, win races, remind people that you’ve got the ability to do this, instead of going to maybe a smaller team in the Cup series and you’re struggling to run P30 every week. That’s not going to serve you well. If you look at the situation right now with silly season, currently, that’s your only opportunity, because there really isn’t a good team right now that has an opening for next year.”

Alas, it remains to be seen what the future holds for Daniel Suarez. It’s obvious some tough decisions will be made, but for now he’s enjoying the thrill of victory in his home country. One way to keep your ride is to win, and if he goes on a bit of a run here in the next few weeks, perhaps he could force Trackhouse’s hand.