Daniel Suarez hopes to get his career back on track with SHR
Photo by PHOTO CREDIT: Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Daniel Suarez described his new ride with Stewart-Haas Racing as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
There’s no doubt that’s the case—the second time around.
It’s not often that a driver with two seasons of limited experience in the Monster Energy Cup Series—and no wins—lands with a premiere organization not once but twice in the infancy of his career.
But Suarez, who turned 26 on Monday, the day the announcement was made, has a supporting cast at Stewart-Haas Racing committed to seeing the Monterrey, Mexico, driver succeed with his ascent into the No. 41 Arris Ford.
“There are definitely new challenges coming into this organization, a lot of new things for me – pretty much everything – and I’m excited to get up to the challenge,” Suarez said via teleconference on Monday. “I’m trying to work hard to continue the success that the 41 car has had in the past. It’s been not too long since I was just a guy racing in the K&N Series, so just very proud and very grateful for a lot of opportunities and for this opportunity with a top caliber team as Stewart-Haas Racing.
“I have a good feeling about this year. So far, everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing has made me feel like home, and we’re gonna have our first test at a race track later this week, so I feel like a lot of good things are happening so we can perform well in and out of the race track.”
A “good feeling” wasn’t necessarily what Suarez left Joe Gibbs Racing with at the end of last year. By summer, rumors were already circulating of a master plan to replace the sophomore driver with Martin Truex Jr., His crew chief of three years, Scott Graves, was replaced by Dave Rogers in October.
Although Suarez had been fast-tracked through the NASCAR ranks—running double-duty Truck and Xfinity programs under the Toyota banner—the wins didn’t materialize until 2016 when he won in a Kyle Busch Motorsports truck at Phoenix and added three NXS victories, including the series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, to claim the series championship.
Suarez was rushed into the Cup series the following year after Carl Edwards unexpected departure from JGR and soldiered to a 20th-place finish in the standings with a sole top-five result at Watkins Glen. He finished 21st last season while rumors of his possible ouster swirled.
The affable driver hopes a fresh start with SHR and crew chief Billy Scott will bring consistency to his racing program in 2019.
“I had a great time in the last four years racing with a good organization like Joe Gibbs Racing,” Suarez said. “We did good things together winning races and winning a championship in the Xfinity Series. The move to Cup was a little bit unexpected, but that year was a good year for us in 2017. Our expectations were high in 2018 and we didn’t do a good job as a team of getting to those goals and getting those results, so I feel like a fresher start in the Cup Series and knowing the people and having a little more consistency people-wise and knowing what to expect and how to work with a good team, I feel like that is gonna help me a lot.
“We know this 41 team has been successful. They’ve won races and they contended for many races last year and a championship, so that tells me what this team is capable of. And Billy Scott and the guys know each other very well, and they’re gonna work hard to bring the same speed or even more this year with a new package, and I’m sure we’re gonna deliver our goals and everything we’re expected to do for this year.”
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