Daniel Suarez on his future at Trackhouse and NASCAR coming to Mexico

Daniel Suarez has been busy in Mexico promoting NASCAR’s first-ever Cup race in the country, while also unveiling his own paint scheme for the race, featuring sponsorship from Telcel-Infinitum. The Trackhouse Racing Team driver is the only Mexican to win at the Cup Series level, and the only foreign-born driver to ever win a national-level title when he claimed the NASCAR Xfinity Series title in 2016.

Motorsport.com was able to take a bit of Suarez’s time in Mexico to talk about the upcoming international race, and his future in the series.

“Obviously, the energy is gradually building up, people are excited, the media is excited,” said Suarez of NASCAR’s June 15th race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. “We just showed the decoration on the car with which we are going to race, and I hope you liked it a lot. There are still many races that I have to focus on before Mexico City, but as you know, Mexico City is going to be a special race for me. I’m trying to live every moment because time passes very quickly and in the blink of an eye, the event is already over. So I want to make sure I live in the moment, enjoy it, and hopefully we can execute a good weekend to fight for the victory.”

Daniel Suarez, NASCAR announcement Mexico City

Photo by: NASCAR Media

Coming home

Suarez earned his first Cup victory at Sonoma Raceway in 2022 and his second at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2024. At several tracks, you can see ‘Daniel’s Amigos’ — a tight-knit group of Suarez fans who get together to cheer on NASCAR’s top Latin American talent. While there are some races where he feels more local support than others, none of them compare to what he expects to experience in Mexico.

“Honestly, I feel like I’m in a very privileged position,” said Suarez. “It hasn’t been easy at all … In the United States, there are many places like California, Phoenix, Miami, Texas, that make me feel at home. I see Mexican flags everywhere. However, it’s not my home. My home is here (in Mexico), and for the first time in (modern) NASCAR history, we are going to have a points race outside of the United States, and it’s going to be in my home. So it is very, very special. I am very happy and excited. And it’s going to be a weekend that I will remember for the rest of my life.”

Daniel Suarez, NASCAR announcement Mexico City

Photo by: NASCAR Media

Keeping up with the big teams

While Mexico is surely circled on his calendar, there are still 35 other races on the 2025 NASCAR Cup schedule. A quarter of the way through the season, no Trackhouse driver has visited Victory Lane, although Suarez came just one position short of the win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It stands as the organization’s best result of the 2025 season, thus far.

Speaking on where the team is at right now, Suarez admitted that “we still have some way to go.” Trackhouse put both cars in the playoffs in 2022 and ended the year as the championship runner-up with Ross Chastain, but since then, their presence at the front has slowly become rarer and rarer.

“We changed many things in the team’s structure,” continued Suarez. “However, that work is still not reflected on the track. We have work to do. Teams like Hendrick, Penske, Joe Gibbs — the big, strong teams are getting a little further away from us each time. And that’s the work we have to do. What do we have to do to be able to compete with the big teams? What are we missing? In 2022, the first year of the Next Gen, we were very strong. I think Trackhouse was, if not, the strongest team. One of the strongest teams that started. However, the big teams had a bit more of an advantage every three or four months. All the races this year have been won by three teams.That’s what I just mentioned to you. We have work to do to catch up with them.”

Josh Berry, Wood Brothers Racing Ford; Daniel Suarez, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Photo by: Chris Graythen – Getty Images

As for his best shot at reaching Victory Lane, Suarez believes “it can happen anywhere,” but spoke of a desire to just see more consistency out of the race team. Some weeks they have winning speed while other weeks, they seem to be buried deep in the pack.

“So you need to have more opportunities. But if I have one or two cars a year that I can win races with, I’ll be lucky if I win a race. So we need to have more opportunities to be able to win more races.”

“I am happy with Trackhouse”

There is also the question around Suarez’s place at Trackhouse, especially with rising star Connor Zilisch, who is under contract with Trackhouse and already a proven winner in the Xfinity Series. Suarez seems more focused on the performance of the team than his immediate future, but he did offer some insight into his mindset surrounding it.

“There are still many things up in the air, it’s still very early and we have been making progress, however, lately, there are several plans to keep moving forward,” said Suarez. “However, we need to make sure that work is reflected on the track. Honestly, the state of the championship doesn’t worry me much. I know that to make it to the playoffs, you have to win. The issue of entering by points is very, very risky. Normally one driver, maybe two, pass through on points, but you really have to win. If you win, you’re in. So, the issue of points doesn’t worry me. I am more focused on the issue of competition in how we are executing the races. What are we doing as a team to improve? What are we doing in 2025 that is better than 2024 to keep improving? And where are we going as well? What’s going to happen?

“I know that the next 10 years of my career are going to be the most important years. And if I want to win a championship, I have to be focused on how I’m going to do it. So, I believe Trackhouse can give me those tools. However, that has to be reflected. Let’s see what happens. It’s also very early to talk to other teams. But I am happy with Trackhouse. However, I am not satisfied. I want to be more competitive. I want more. And hopefully, we can achieve it together.”