NASCAR Cup Series: Top 5 free agents for 2023
By Asher Fair
Top NASCAR Cup Series free agents for 2023: No. 2 – Daniel Suarez
Believe it or not, Daniel Suarez doesn’t officially have a contract to compete beyond the conclusion of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season.
However, this one is truly only a matter of time; a contract extension for Suarez with Trackhouse Racing Team is simply a formality at this stage in the game.
Trackhouse Racing Team president Ty Norris has stated that there is a “100% chance” that the 30-year-old Mexican re-signs with the team for the 2023 season.
While Norris made that comment after Suarez finally broke through and earned his first victory at Sonoma Raceway last month, he added that that win had no effect on Suarez’s contract status with the team.
Prior to that win, however, there were questions being asked about Suarez’s future, especially since he had previously gone three seasons at Joe Gibbs Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing without winning. In year number two at Trackhouse Racing Team, he was still seeking his first win. If he failed to get it, what would Justin Marks do about the #99 Chevrolet?
Meanwhile, in his first year with the team, Ross Chastain is tied for the series lead with two victories, the first two victories of his career, and leads the series in top five finishes with nine.
But the speed had always been there for Suarez, even though he hadn’t quite executed like Chastain. And like Norris implied, even if he hadn’t broken through with that victory, the smart decision would have been to re-sign him.