By Jerry Jordan, Editor
CONCORD, N.C. – After a brief hiatus from the Toyota Racing Development family, Daniel Suarez will be back behind the wheel of a Camry in 2020 and serve as the wheelman for Gaunt Brothers Racing in the No. 96 car.
“It’s great to be back with Toyota and back in the NASCAR Cup Series,” said the 28-year-old Suárez, who was born in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico and now calls Huntersville, North Carolina home. “My NASCAR career started off really well and Toyota was a very big part of that. To have them in my corner again gives me a lot of confidence. Gaunt Brothers Racing has something to prove and so do I. We’re committed to each other and we’re going to build each other up.”
Suarez made his Cup Series full-time start in 2018 with Joe Gibbs Racing but after a year, he went to Stewart-Haas Racing and drove the No. 41 Ford Mustang. But when a delay in sponsorship for the 2020 season occurred, he announced he was leaving the team but wasn’t worried about his future at the top of the NASCAR heap. After a long off-season, Suarez announced his new home with Marty Gaunt – ending speculation on where he would end up.
The reunion with Toyota was welcomed by the manufacturer with Ed Laukes, group vice president, marketing, Toyota Motor North America.
“We are pleased that Daniel is rejoining the Toyota family in 2020,” Laukes said. “He has been a member of the Toyota Racing family throughout the majority of his career and contributed greatly to our shared success, most notably in winning the 2016 Xfinity Series championship. We are excited to see Gaunt Brothers Racing move to a fulltime entry next season and thrilled to have Daniel behind the wheel. We look forward to this new partnership.”
Gaunt previously operated Triad Racing Technologies, which at the time built a Toyota engine platform available for teams. But when that ended his race team signed on with Toyota Racing Development and formed an alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing. The Gaunt Brothers Racing team attempted the 2017 Daytona 500 and made the show but their car was caught up in a crash and did not finish the race. The team failed to make the field in Talladega and decided not to attempt the second Daytona race that year. Gaunt Brothers Racing has fielded a part-time entry for the past two years, with Parker Kligerman driving 14 of 15 races in 2019. Drew Herring drove at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Gaunt Brothers Racing traces its roots back to 2010 when it began competing in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series and the Canada-based NASCAR Pinty’s Series. Gaunt Brothers Racing won the 2011 Toyota All-Star Showdown with driver Jason Bowles at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway and scored the pole for the 2011 Streets of Toronto 100 with a track-record qualifying time on the city circuit, with Bowles again at the wheel.
“We’ve been working toward this moment since Gaunt Brothers Racing joined the Cup Series in 2017,” said Marty Gaunt, president, Gaunt Brothers Racing. “We’ve made steady improvement every year, but bringing Daniel on board allows us to take a giant leap forward. We’re investing in each other. He’s not content to just be here and neither are we. We’ve been very strategic in everything we’ve done, and between our partnership with Toyota and the resources now available to us, we can take that next step and deliver for Daniel and all of our partners.”
Suárez’s racing career began in 2003 when he competed in go-karts. He is a two-time Mexican national karting champion (2004 and 2008) and twice earned a spot to compete in the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals karting event – 2004 in Spain and 2008 in Italy. In 2008, he joined the mini-stock division – an official support series of the NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series. Suárez won 10 races in the NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series before coming stateside to compete in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series. He kept on winning, scoring three victories in 2013 before transitioning to the Xfinity Series. His championship season in 2016 consisted of three wins, three poles and 19 top-five and 27 top-10 finishes. In winning his first career Xfinity Series race on June 11, 2016, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Suárez became the first Mexican driver to win a NASCAR national series race.
His sponsors for 2020 will be Coca-Cola and ComScope, which was previously known as Arris and Ruckus Networks brands.
“We are excited to continue our partnership with Daniel Suárez and build a new relationship with Gaunt Brothers Racing,” said John Mount, vice president, sports marketing and region assets, Coca-Cola North America. “Daniel is a valuable member of the Coca-Cola Racing Family and he embodies the values most important to Coca-Cola. We’re looking forward to supporting Daniel in this next step of his career at Gaunt Brothers Racing.”
“CommScope solutions deliver power, speed, precision and innovation – just like a race team – and provide fans with an optimal experience as they watch NASCAR through our video, wireless and broadband technologies,” said Eddie Edwards, president and CEO, CommScope. “We wish Daniel Suárez much success this year and look forward to cheering him on at the finish line.”
The team is skipping the Busch Clash to focus on the Daytona 500 and Suarez will be on the track on Dec. 9.