Competing in his ninth consecutive full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series division, Daniel Suarez is scheduled to achieve a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the driver of the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet entry will reach 300 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.
A native of Monterrey, Mexico, Suarez made his inaugural presence in NASCAR’s premier series at the start of the 2017 season. By then, he was coming off an Xfinity Series championship with Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) and was promoted to a full-time Cup ride in JGR’s No. 19 Toyota Camry entry after veteran Carl Edwards retired from full-time NASCAR competition. Starting 19th, Suarez finished 29th in his Cup debut during the 59th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway after he was involved in a late multi-car wreck.
Throughout his rookie Cup Series campaign, Suarez notched a total of 12 top-10 results and a season-best third-place run at Watkins Glen International. He also recorded three sixth-place runs, six seventh-place finishes, a season-best starting spot of third place at Dover Motor Speedway and a non-points race victory in the All-Star Open at Charlotte Motor Speedway that enabled him to compete in his first All-Star Race, where he finished 15th. Amid the results, Suarez fell short of making the 2017 Cup Series Playoffs. The Mexico native would proceed to accumulate three top-10 results for the remaining 10 events on the schedule before he settled in 20th place in the final standings. In addition, he settled in the runner-up spot behind Erik Jones for the Rookie-of-the-Year battle and recorded a career-best average-finishing result of 16.2.
Like his rookie Cup season, Suarez commenced his sophomore Cup season with a wreck in the 60th running of the Daytona 500 that occurred on the final lap of the first stage period. He proceeded by finishing no higher than eighth during his next seven starts before notching three consecutive top-10 finishes between late April to early May, which included a third-place result at Dover. During the All-Star Race weekend at Charlotte, Suarez won the second segment of the Open that enabled him to transfer into the All-Star event for a second consecutive season. He would proceed to finish second behind Kevin Harvick amid a two-lap shootout.
At Pocono Raceway in early August 2018, Suarez was awarded his first Cup career pole position despite qualifying in third place, but was promoted to the top-starting spot after the qualifying times of Kevin Harvick and teammate Kyle Busch’s were disallowed due to their respective entries failing the post-qualifying inspection process. During the main event at Pocono, Suarez led 29 laps and settled in a career-best runner-up result behind Busch amid an overtime shootout. Despite backing up his Pocono result with a fourth-place finish the following weekend at Watkins Glen, Suarez missed the 2018 Cup Playoffs. He capped off the season with three top-10 results during the remaining 10 events on the schedule before ending up in 21st place in the final standings.
In 2019, Suarez, who was replaced by Martin Truex Jr. at Joe Gibbs Racing, joined forces with Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) to pilot the No. 41 Ford Mustang entry on a full-time Cup basis. Suarez’s first campaign with SHR commenced by wrecking out of the 61st running of the Daytona 500 after he was involved in a late multi-car wreck, which marked his third consecutive DNF in the Cup Series season opener. He would rally by finishing 10th during the following weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway before he racked up five additional top-10 results during his next 13 starts, including a season-best third-place result at Texas Motor Speedway in April. At Kentucky Speedway, Suarez notched his second Cup career pole and would proceed to finish eighth after leading 52 laps. Despite accumulating two additional top-10 results during the remaining six events on the regular-season schedule, he missed the Playoffs by four points. He would proceed to record two top-10 results, including a second third-place run at Texas in November, over the 10-race Playoff stretch before achieving a 17th-place result in the final standings. By then, Suarez led a total of 166 laps throughout the season, notched 11 top-10 results, recorded his second-best average-finishing result overall at 16.4 and surpassed 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.
After losing his Stewart-Haas Racing ride to Cole Custer for the 2020 season, Suarez ended up joining forces with Gaunt Brothers Racing for a full-time Cup bid. His season commenced on a low note by failing to qualify for the 62nd running of the Daytona 500 after he was involved in a wreck during the first of two Daytona Duels and since his Gaunt Brothers Racing entry did not have an automatic berth to the 500. Overall, Suarez achieved a pair of season-best results of 18th-place finishes (Bristol Motor Speedway in June and at Kansas Speedway in July) before he ended up in a career-low 31st place in the final standings.
In October 2020, Suarez was announced as a Cup Series competitor for the newly formed Trackhouse Racing, a team owned by Justin Marks and Armando Christian “Pitbull” Perez, for the 2021 season. He commenced the season by ending up in 36th place during the 63rd running of the Daytona 500 after he was eliminated in an early multi-car wreck. Six races later, he recorded a strong fourth-place run during the series’ inaugural event at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course after leading 58 laps. Despite claiming two additional top-10 results and a total of nine top-15 runs throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, Suarez, who was involving in a final lap multi-car wreck during the regular-season finale at Daytona in August while contending for the victory, fell short of making the 2021 Cup Series Playoffs. After managing to record a single top-10 result over the final 10 races of the season, he finished in 25th place in the final standings.
Remaining at Trackhouse Racing that grew to a two-car operation and recruited Ross Chastain for the 2022 season, Suarez achieved a breakout season that commenced by finishing 18th during the 64th running of the Daytona 500 before he finished fourth the following weekend at Auto Club Speedway after contending for the victory in the closing laps. Despite recording a total of three top-10 finishes throughout his next 13-scheduled starts, he led a total of 156 laps during the span. Then at Sonoma Raceway in June, Suarez triumphed for the first time in the Cup Series and in his 95th career start after he led 47 laps, including the final 26, en route to his first win. With the victory, Suarez became the 202nd competitor and the first Mexican-born competitor to win in NASCAR’s premier series. By virtue of winning at Sonoma, he also clinched a Playoff berth for the first time in his career.
After finishing in the top 10 five times during the remaining 10 events on the regular-season schedule, Suarez commenced his first Playoff appearance by transferring from the Round of 16 to 12 with three consecutive top-20 results. Then after finishing eighth and 12th, respectively, during the Round of 12, Suarez’s title hopes came to an end after he ended up in 36th place during the Round of 12 finale while being mired with a power steering issue and a late run-in with Corey LaJoie. Managing a single top-10 result within the final four events of the season, Suarez managed to finish in a career-best 10th place in the final standings. Overall, he achieved career-high stats in top fives (six), top 10s (13) and laps led (280) while recording an average-finishing result of 16.5 throughout the 2022 season. By then, he also surpassed 200 Cup career starts.
Suarez’s 2023 Cup season commenced on his strongest start to date by finishing seventh during the 65th running of the Daytona 500 before he finished in the top 10 during the following two weekends. He then finished no higher than 17th during his next six starts before he rallied by finishing ninth at Talladega Superspeedway in April. With only three additional top-10 results, including a season-best second-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway in July, recorded over the remaining 16 regular-season events, Suarez missed the Playoffs. With two additional top-10 results generated throughout the 10-race Playoff stretch, he claimed 19th place in the final standings.
This past season, Suarez commenced the season by finishing 34th in the 66th running of the Daytona 500 after he was collected in a late multi-car wreck while contending for the victory. Then during the second event of the season at Atlanta, he edged Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch in a three-wide photo finish, where he nosed ahead of the former by 0.003 seconds and the latter by 0.007 seconds, to capture his second Cup career victory and his first on a superspeedway/oval circuit. Despite accumulating only five additional top-10 results for the remaining 24 regular-season events on the schedule, the Atlanta victory was enough for Suarez to make his second appearance in the Playoffs as a contender. With respective finishes of second, 13th and 31st throughout the Round of 16, Suarez managed to transfer into the Round of 12. His Playoff run, however, came to an end following the Round of 12 for a second time after he finished no higher than 13th on the track. With two top-10 results recorded over the remaining four-scheduled events, Suarez finished in 12th place in the 2024 final standings.
Through 299 previous Cup starts, Suarez has achieved two victories, three poles, 23 top-five results, 71 top-10 results, 886 laps led and an average-finishing result of 18.9. He is currently ranked in 27th place in the 2025 driver’s standings and has finished in the top 10 three times through the first 12-scheduled events. He continues his pursuit for both his first victory of this season and a guaranteed berth to a third career berth to the Playoffs.
Daniel Suarez is scheduled to make his 300th Cup Series career start at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 25, at 6 p.m. ET on Prime Video.
