NASCAR insider: Concerning start for Daniel Suarez with Connor Zilisch looming

Daniel Suarez is off the a rough start in 2025, with the pressure of potentially racing for his job in the NASCAR Cup Series with Trackhouse Racing weighing on his shoulders.

While Suarez was the team’s original wheelman, they’ve since added Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen to their stable. It’s a formidable full-time trio, but 18-year old wunderkind Connor Zilisch is waiting in the wings. If he’s ready to move into the top NASCAR series next season, Suarez feels like the odd man out.

The 33-year old seemed primed for a solid performance over the weekend at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Texas. He qualified well, but then he spun and his afternoon ended unceremoniously. Afterwards, NASCAR insiders Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi took some time to evaluate where the veteran wheelmen stands at the moment.

“Daniel Suarez, not good. Like today, had a good car. Made a mistake. Crashed out. He’s got to win. Like, that’s it. His path to the playoffs is winning. He didn’t win. Honestly, I’ll say it, he’s probably racing for his job, in a lot of respects, or for his next job potentially, depending on how [Connor] Zilisch does this year,” Bianchi stated, via the latest episode of The Teardown. “So, he needed a really strong start to the year. Three races in, don’t sound the alarm yet, but it’s been concerning.”

Perhaps Suarez can bounce back, but he’s certainly not off to the start he would’ve liked in 2025. Gluck agreed with his colleague, believing the last thing Suarez wants to do is make the decision easier than it needs to be for Trackhouse, as it pertains to Zilisch’s future.

“The thing is too, if you’re Suarez, you want to make it as hard a decision as possible,” Gluck added. “You don’t want it to be like, ‘Well, it’s kind of a no brainer. We’ve got Zilisch coming in here.’ That’s the last thing you want. You want to make it really tough like, ‘We can’t let this guy go.'”

The good news for Suarez is that the NASCAR Cup Series season is more of a marathon than a sprint, that’s for sure. He has plenty of time to turn it around, but he’s certainly in a different spot than he was in 2024, when he went to Victory Lane during the second week of the season.

Regardless, Daniel Suarez has been a huge part of the growth of Trackhouse Racing, but his future is murkier than it’s been in quite awhile. He’s going to have to keep Connor Zilisch at bay if he wants to continue driving the No. 99 in 2026 and beyond, but that’s easier said than done.