BRISTOL, Tenn. -- A weekly Vlog? On paper, this was an odd concept to Daniel Suarez. In reality, Julia Piquet's creation has been a smash hit.
This is not something Daniel Suarez initially expected.
"I'm 100% surprised on how people have been loving it," Suarez told AltDriver at Bristol Motor Speedway.
This season marked the debut of weekly Vlogs showing Suarez going about the racing season. His wife Julia films him from the start of the race weekend until its conclusion while capturing dozens of behind-the-scenes moments.
"When Julia came to me in January or February, and with this idea, I told her, I said, 'Who's going to really care about that,'" Suarez explained. "She said, 'Oh, trust me, I think it's going to be very cool to get it behind the scenes and stuff.'"
These videos show Suarez going through his weekly responsibilities at the track, which require talking to media members for 15-20 minutes at a time. They show him talking to fans, signing autographs, and doing Q&A sessions. They highlight the practices, qualifying sessions, and races.
Julia also uses the Vlog to show the less joyful moments of the race weekend. One time, it was as simple as a cat urinating on Suarez's leg during a flight to Texas. Another time, it was his frustrated comments after an incident out of his control prematurely ended the race weekend at Phoenix.
What Suarez has learned since agreeing to take part in this project is that there is an audience. Fans want to learn more about him, Julia, Trackhouse Racing, and the entire NASCAR experience.
Suarez also joked that Trackhouse Racing Director of Communications Drew Brown is now having to sign autographs after being put in front of the camera.
"I've been amazed," Suarez said. "Everywhere I go, at least one person tells me like, 'Hey, man, we love the Vlogs and stuff. We love watching what's happening behind the scenes and outside the racetrack.'"
The interesting thing about these Vlogs is that this is not the first time Suarez has put his life on display. He previously did so for multiple projects. One of the most recent was the 2022 USA Network series, "Race for the Championship."
Suarez took NASCAR fans on his journey through the racing ranks and showed off the apartment where he lived after moving to North Carolina. He detailed how he met Julia and how their relationship progressed.
This USA Network project was far more intensive than Suarez's Vlog. It had camera crews and producers. It had certain story beats that the Cup driver had to address.
Simply put, the Vlog is far more natural.
"Really, when it comes to a Vlog, it doesn't take any of my time at all, because I'm doing exactly what I'm normally doing," Suarez said. "And it just happens that Julia takes out a tiny camera, and she starts filming a little bit.
"So I like that it is extremely, extremely real. It's not produced at all. It's extremely real. And any show -- doesn't matter who does it -- it's gonna have some production into it and a little bit of acting.
"What I have learned to love about the Vlog is that there is absolutely zero acting, at least from my part."