Neha Dwivedi, Staff Writer
When Daniel Suárez parted ways with Trackhouse Racing at the end of last season and moved to Spire Motorsports, they split without public mudslinging, yet Suárez expressed some unease with the decision, saying he’d felt out of the loop for several seasons with his input falling on deaf ears. And the team already had its eyes on Connor Zilisch filling Suarez’s seat.
Recently, the simmer spilled over again after Suárez qualified fourth at Phoenix Raceway, when his wife, Julia Piquet, posted on X, sharing both her happiness and bitterness about Suarez’s current situation in a single remark.
“Amazing the things one can do when you’re no longer just an afterthought,” she wrote.
The remark, which many read as a jab at his former team, set tongues wagging among fans and provoked debate on social media. But, interestingly, for Suárez, the deal with Spire runs for one season, meaning every run counts as industry insiders are calling it a “prove it” year.
So far, Suarez feels confident he will be okay and thinks the team has a lot of potential. When asked by Kickin’ The Tires Senior how much pressure comes with a one-year deal and the need to earn an extension, Suárez brushed the concern aside and stuck to the long game.
“The main focus is on just continue to focus on the process, on the execution,” he said. “We have the speed and that’s the main thing and hopefully we can do that right. Things are gonna take care of itself, I’m not, I’m not worried about that. I’m happy where I am right now. Honestly, I wouldn’t be; I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I’m very, very happy where I am right now.”
He added that the move has lived up to what he had hoped for when talks began late last year.
“This organization, I had some expectations back in October, November about this place and I’m not, I’m not kidding when I’m saying that this place has exceeded some of my expectations competition-wise,” he said. “So, I’m very, very happy with that. The potential of this group is tremendous, so I’m very, very happy to be with this group at this stage because I believe that there is a lot of growth that is gonna happen for this organization in the near future.”
After four races in the NASCAR Cup Series season, Suarez sits 17th in the standings with 98 points and one DNF, which came at Phoenix. The next stop comes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.