[autotag]Daniel Suarez[/autotag] won his first career Cup Series race in 2022 but failed to follow it up during the 2023 NASCAR season. Suarez finished the year with three top-5 finishes and 10 top-10 finishes. Unfortunately for the driver of the No. 99 car, he failed to make the playoffs and finished 18th in the point standings following a poor 11-race stretch.
Suarez earned his first top-5 finish of the year at Auto Club Speedway and only compiled two more top-5 finishes over the next 34 events. He didn’t have the speed and consistency in 2023. Suarez closed out the campaign with 48 laps led (24th-best) and a 19.0 average finishing position (20th-best); however, where did it all go wrong for him?
DANIEL SUAREZ WINS AT SONOMA! 🏁
RT TO CONGRATULATE @Daniel_SuarezG ON WINNING THE #ToyotaSaveMart350!@NASCAR | @TeamTrackhouse pic.twitter.com/H7yqPVWPBk
— Sonoma Raceway (@RaceSonoma) June 12, 2022
The Trackhouse Racing driver only had four top-15 finishes in the last 11 races and a best finish of 11th place in the last five events. Suarez struggled to compete, and while he did have some fast cars over the year, he could not put it all together at Atlanta Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis Road Course, most notably.
Overall, Suarez needs a massive 2024 NASCAR season, with Zane Smith and Shane van Gisbergen looking for a ride with Trackhouse Racing. The driver of the No. 99 car has proven that he can win races at NASCAR’s top level, but he needs to produce sooner rather than later. If not, Suarez could be the one on the outside looking for a ride.
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