Trackhouse Racing and Daniel Suarez announced a mutual parting of ways ahead of the trip to Chicago. This split caught many by surprise, but Suarez was not a member of this group.
This was a change that the Trackhouse Racing driver had expected for a considerable amount of time.
"The last six months, eight months, they have been very difficult for me," Suarez told media members on Saturday afternoon. "Because I knew this was going to happen. I wasn't very happy anymore, and I wasn't the only one."
Suarez has been with Trackhouse Racing since the team's first race in 2021. He was the first driver signed to the roster, and he has continued to compete while driving the No. 99.
A journeyman at one point in his Cup Series career, Suarez said that he had originally wanted to spend the rest of his racing career with the Justin Marks-owned team.
However, the situation recently changed. The No. 99 team was more inconsistent than the No. 1 team and Ross Chastain. Suarez delivered two wins to the team, but he also missed the playoffs in 2021 and '23. He is 29th in points with eight races remaining in the regular season.
As Suarez explained, one of the reasons for the disparity was an underlying problem regarding his role in the organization.
"First of all, Ross is a very good driver," Suarez said. "I give him credit for that. Since my new crew chief (Matt Swiderski) came to Trackhouse, he told me a lot of things that he didn't think were right within the organization and a lot of things that needed to be changed.
"I've been being very vocal with the team, 'Hey, we need to adjust this, we need to adjust that.' I'm not the only one seeing it. There is more people seeing it. And not a lot of things happened. Everything happened so slow."
Suarez added that things have happened that have made him feel like he wasn't important. Although he clarified that this was not the only reason why he and the team chose to split after the season finale at Phoenix. The love was gone in this relationship.
So what is next for Suarez? Will he remain in the Cup Series, or will he head back to the Xfinity Series after the split? The Mexico native expressed optimism about his future, but he also noted that he was in a tricky situation.
He knew he would not return to Trackhouse Racing in 2026, but his contract prevented from talking to other teams until this week. This shortened the timeline and eliminated some potential opportunities that he could have pursued.
Now, he has to spend the rest of the season trying to find his next seat.