NASCAR Cup Series
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez
Team Chevy Driver Quotes
June 13, 2025
Daniel Suarez, driver of the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, and Ross Chastain, driver of the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, met with the media in following the NASCAR Cup Series practice session at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
Media Availability Quotes:
I only wanted to ask you something simple. It’s about drivers. What would you say to a young child, especially now that we are in Mexico, that wants to be part of the motorsports world, whether it’s by being a driver, an engineer, a PR person, or social media specialist?
ROSS CHASTAIN: “I think right here in Mexico City you better be going to the go-kart track in the mall. What’s it called?”
DANIEL SUAREZ: “Go Kart Mania.”
ROSS CHASTAIN: “Go Kart Mania. We were there last night. That place is awesome. I would be ripping laps there. I would have my kids there.
Then as a driver you just have to start racing, whatever level you can afford. Everybody has a different path. There’s no right or wrong way to do this.
There’s multi-generation families that are racing that Daniel and I are racing against. There’s guys like Daniel and I that our dads liked racing and helped us get going and worked to make money so they could spend on go-karts for Daniel, Pro Trucks for me, late models, asphalt late models in the States.
Whatever you can race, keep moving up. If you are successful, if you can win, keep moving up. Be around older racers.
Then on the other fronts as far as PR or engineering, yeah, there’s definitely going to be scholarship — or you’re going to need to have some sort of degree, so finding scholarships to go get those degrees and go to school to know what to do when you get to the team.
And mechanics, some have degrees, and some just know how to turn wrenches, and they are really good at it. You got to be willing to be really good at it to be on our teams. We put them through a lot.”
DANIEL SUAREZ: “You know, for me I think this is a very good opportunity not just for drivers, but also for mechanics, for engineers, even pit crew members.
You know, right now we are racing in a stage that is different than 90% of the races that we do, so in my mind this is a great opportunity for the Mexico Series and, just like Ross mentioned, drivers, mechanics, engineers, pit crew members, everything to hopefully, for those that really want to exceed Mexico and go to the United States, trying to build some connections somehow.
I remember when I was going to United States, I feel my mechanics of NASCAR Mexico, they really wanted to go to United States. At that time I didn’t have the connections. I didn’t know anyone. I was just trying to survive myself, but right now I feel like I’m in a little bit different position. I would love to help.
I think that this is very important to continue to grow the diversity in the sport, and we need more people from Mexico. We need more Latinos in the sport. Not just drivers, everything across the board.
Hopefully this race really opens the eyes for many young guys or girls that want to do something in NASCAR in the U.S.”
ROSS CHASTAIN: “If there’s somebody in a NASCAR Mexico team, I think you never — you miss every shot you don’t take. So walk up to our garage, they’ve been out on pit road, and find the guy in like a nice shirt that’s not getting dirty and, like, shake his hand, introduce yourself. Okay, they say no. Okay, they say we don’t have a spot. Okay, find the next ones.
Find the guys in the clean shirts and introduce yourself. You have a business card. Write your name and number on a piece of paper. Ask how to submit a résumé. What would it take?
It’s going to take moving to the States to work in NASCAR. Ask. It’s scary. I get it, I know. We’ve been there, but go ask, and if they say no, you got a cool story to tell when you’re drinking beer.”
There’s been a lot of hype and build-up to the race. You’ve been the central focus of this. Now that you’re here and this week, what has it been like? Has it been even more or less than what you anticipated?
DANIEL SUAREZ: “Man, it’s very hard to put into words. I had an expectation on the hype of the people and energy and the fans coming and the media, you guys. The entire week and weekend now, it has exceed every single expectation that I had. For that I want to say thank you to you guys.
This event I feel like it hasn’t even started yet, and it has been — I’ve been living a dream. That’s exactly what has been happening for me the last few days. I feel very blessed, very happy to be here racing in front of you guys.
I feel that finally I was able to drive the car, not just talk about it. I feel really a fish in the water. Hopefully I ask just continue to have fun and continue to enjoy this moment. We’re making history right now together. Not just NASCAR, not just me, but the entire country of Mexico.
This is something very special, and it’s also a very good example when these two countries work together, the sky is the limit. I think that it’s a great example of the work that NASCAR and Mexico Series and all the promoters have been doing together.”
With all the stuff going on this week, how hard has it been to focus in for practice and qualifying this weekend, and how are you feeling for Sunday’s race?
DANIEL SUAREZ: “Honestly, a lot of people has been worried about that, but I haven’t. I have had a plan in my mind of what I was going to do, and I’ve been following that plan since Tuesday.
You know, you have no idea how many people has been telling me, Daniel, you’re going to be burned out. Daniel, slow down a little bit. I know, I have a plan in my mind, and I already know what I need to do, how much to push. I’m just enjoying it.
I’m like a kid on Christmas. That’s why you guys see me with a smile pretty much everywhere I go. It’s been a blast so far. Like I said, this is just getting started. This is only the first day of the weekend.”
I want to do English and Spanish. I want to start with Ross. How has it been adapting physically to Mexico City? One thing is what they tell you it’s going to be like, and the second it’s ride in the car. I guess the second one is, how are the Spanish lessons going with Daniel?
ROSS CHASTAIN: “No Spanish lessons. I’m honest with everybody. I didn’t even try. I know a lot of people that I know, they say, Oh, I’m going to try, I’ve got an app. No, not me.
And I don’t feel very good, I’ll be honest. I’ve had a headache ever since I woke up the first morning. I did go for a run, and I had to run slower at a higher heart rate than normal.
Yeah, I mean, I feel tired, and we haven’t done a whole lot. I’m ready for bed right now after a Frosty. Yeah, I feel pretty bad, honestly.”
DANIEL SUAREZ: “You want a Chamoy Frosty, like the one that you tried of myself?”
ROSS CHASTAIN: “No. Actually, I want a Baconator, if I’m being honest.”
Daniel, so much build-up for you this week, and then your team nearly doesn’t get here, and some of them aren’t even here yet. What were your emotions the last 24 hours knowing you might be without some team members, who knew if your car was getting on track, what NASCAR was going to do, or did you just say, What happens, happens?
DANIEL SUAREZ: “Listen, one of my main mechanics is not here yet. All my engineers are not here yet. So definitely today we’re running, limping a little bit (laughing), but I love adversity. I love it.
You put me against the world, and I’m going to come at you swinging, and my team is the same way. I’m good with it. This is just going to be a better story.
You know, we win on Sunday, and then we’re going to be laughing about, Hey, hey, we almost didn’t make practice (laughing). I’m okay with it.
It’s a shame that it happened, but we don’t blame anyone. We just find solutions, and we continue to move forward.”
For both of you, what needs to happen after these practices today between now and Sunday for you have a chance to win on Sunday?
DANIEL SUAREZ: “Well, for me it’s everything about execution, you know, and continue to improve our race cars. My car in the first practice, I was not happy at all with it, but second practice I was okay with it. I’m not — I’m happier. I’m not super happy, but I’m happier.
So I’m okay with it. I’m okay starting here and making progress here. Now we have to continue to make the car a little bit better. I don’t believe that we fire up as the best car, but I believe that we are slowly heading into that group of cars.
So once we get into that group of cars, it’s a free game. You know, it’s anyone’s race. I feel like my job is to continue to push our groups to continue to make these cars better and execute the best possible race that we can.
Tomorrow is going to be qualifying, and then on Sunday it’s going to be a (indiscernible) and everything in between. So it’s going to be just important to execute the best possible weekend that we can possibly do.”
ROSS CHASTAIN: “Qualify. I have to qualify good. Or we have to play the strategy to put me up there on equal tires because how do you do that? I don’t know.
So it all goes to qualifying for me, and then we’ll figure it out in the race. Then from the driving, like, feedback side, I have the two best road course drivers in the garage, so I don’t give my team much feedback at these places. I’m, like, Please build it like theirs. Whatever you think they say is better, do it. I’ll just go drive it.
You saw me — I don’t know if you saw. It was chaotic, but I was trying to follow SVG in first practice. Couldn’t find him. He didn’t have a spotter, so he wasn’t even on the track. So I found Daniel and followed him.
Actually, I got confident to drive by myself, which I usually need, like, Rudolph out there in front of me.”
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