No. 02 Young’s Motorsports Team:
Driver: Daniel Suárez
Primary Partner(s): GoPro Motorplex | AMR Motorplex
Manufacturer: Chevrolet Silverado
Crew Chief: Eddie Troconis
2021 Owner Points Position: 14th
Engine: Ilmor Racing Technologies
Notes of Interest:
Bienvenido de nuevo (Welcome Back): This weekend at the inaugural Pinty’s Dirt Race at Bristol, Young’s Motorsports welcomes former NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Daniel Suárez as driver of the team’s No. 02 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado.
The Monterrey, Mexico native is using the Truck Series race as experience for his NASCAR Cup Series debut on the dirt in Sunday’s highly anticipated Food City Dirt Race aboard the No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Trackhouse Racing.
Truck Series Rundown: Suárez will make his 28th career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start in Saturday night’s race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
In his previous 27 races, 26 for Kyle Busch Motorsports and one for Win-Tron Racing, Suárez has one pole, one win, 10 top-five and 11 top-10 finishes and 263 laps led.
His first career victory came in his 26th start at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway in the 2016 Lucas Oil 150 after starting second.
On The Truck: GoPro Motorplex will serve as the primary partner this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Located in Mooresville, NC, GoPro Motorplex is an outdoor, 0.7-mile, 11-turn karting facility open to the public seven days a week, year-round featuring Adult Karts (Ages 16+) available for rent that reach speeds up to 55 mph.
GoPro Motorplex can also accommodate group events and corporate team-building outings.
Additionally, the facility hosts some of the largest professional touring karting series races in the country, making GoPro Motorplex the premier source for all things karting at every level of the sport.
For more information on GoPro Motorplex, please visit gopromotorplex.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Historic Pairing: For the second consecutive weekend, Suárez will have a fellow Hispanic calling the shots as crew chief.
Last weekend at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway, crew chief José Blasco-Figueroa guided Suarez in the Quik Trip Folds of Honor 500 to a respectable 17th place finish. Although Suarez and Blasco-Figueroa have worked together before, it was the first Hispanic pairing of a driver and crew chief in NASCAR since 1959.
This weekend, the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion will be paired with crew chief Eddie Troconis, a native of Heroica Veracruz, Mexico.
The Format: Saturday night’s field will consist of 40 trucks.
35 trucks will earn a spot based on their points earned in the qualifying races (qualifying race finish points + passing points). Four additional provisional spots will be awarded to the top four trucks in 2021 Truck Series owners’ points who have not already earned a spot in the race.
The final provisional will go to the most recent past champion. If one does not exist, it will go to the next highest truck in Truck Series owner points.
Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway | FR8 Auctions 200 Race Recap: In his second career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, standout Josh Berry earned a respectable 22nd place finish in the No. 02 Kris Wright Motorsports Chevrolet.
Berry was standing in for Young’s Motorsports driver Kris Wright who was diagnosed with COVID-19 prior to the fourth Truck Series race of 2021.
Solid Start For Young’s Motorsports: Between Wright’s top-15 finish in the season-opener at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, driver Kaz Grala’s eighth-place performance at the Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway Road Course and respectable runs at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway and Atlanta, Young’s Motorsports is sitting 14th in the Truck Series owner standings with 18 races remaining in 2021.
Calling the Shots: Guiding Suárez as crew chief of the No. 02 GoPro Motorplex Chevrolet Silverado is longtime crew chief Eddie Troconis.
Troconis is a two-time winning crew chief in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and comes to Young’s Motorsports after tenures at ThorSport Racing, AM Racing and Sam Hunt Racing (Xfinity Series) respectively.
He will crew chief his 127th NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on Saturday. In his previous 126 races, he has two wins, 22 top-five and 45 top-10 finishes to his resume.
Saturday night’s historic event will mark his first race as crew chief on the Bristol Dirt. At the Eldora Dirt Track, he has four starts as crew chief with a best finish of seventh in 2016 with Cameron Hayley.
Two years later, he guided Ben Rhodes to the pole at Eldora.
Follow on Social Media: For more on Daniel Suárez, please visit, danielsuarezracing.com, like him on Facebook (Daniel Suárez) and follow him on Twitter (@Daniel_SuarezG) and Instagram (@daniel_suarezg)
For more on Young’s Motorsports, please visit YoungsMotorsports.com, like them on Facebook (Young’s Motorsports) and follow on Instagram (youngsmotorsports) and Twitter (@youngsmtrsports).
Daniel Suárez Pre-Race Quote:
On Truck Series Return At Bristol: “I am looking forward to Saturday night it’s been a few years since I raced in the truck series. I don’t know what to expect, I am not sure anyone does. We tested a street stock and late model on dirt Tuesday and it was a blast.
“It’s nothing like racing on the pavement so we will have to see how things go this weekend. I think the key Saturday will be patience. I hope the fans really enjoy the show.”
On Key To Success At Bristol: “I don’t know how to answer that. I have never been on dirt in my life so I’m not a dirt person. I grew up in Mexico and didn’t even know people raced cars on dirt! That’s wasn’t an option when I was growing up.
“But, honestly, I’m super excited for the challenge. It will be interesting to see how things play out. I will have to put a lot of work in and try to get better at it quickly.”
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
