Race car drivers know it takes a lot of people to achieve success.
Crew chiefs, mechanics like the ones on that Red Deer mechanic shop, support personnel just to name a few, but it also takes corporate support.
No. 99 Chevrolet driver Daniel Suárez will tell you without the support of CommScope he wouldn’t be competing at the highest level of stock car racing as he is today.
When Mexico’s only Cup Series driver pulls onto the track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday it will mark the eighth consecutive season CommScope has supported the 30-year-old driver.
Las Vegas will mark the first of 11 races the Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet will carry CommScope livery.
It might be the perfect time to join Suárez and Trackhouse Racing.
At Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. on Sunday Suárez overcame a brush with the wall and a faulty diffuser flap to lead with three laps left in the race. He fell to fourth in the final laps, but equaled Trackhouse Racing’s best finish in team history.
Trackhouse teammate Ross Chastain drove a backup car with no practice laps into the top 10 before a spin with 27 laps remaining ended his bid for victory.
Both Trackhouse Racing drivers should be contenders Sunday at Las Vegas.
Fox will televise Sunday’s race at 3:30 p.m. ET
No. 99’s Fast Pit Stops at Auto Club Speedway
According to Trackhouse Racing;
The No. 99 pit crew gained 16 total spots over the last five stops of the race and gained eight spots in the last two stops
With eight laps to go, the No. 99 crew turned in a 10.19 second stop that gained Suárez five positions moving him to second-place. It was the second fastest of the race and fastest final stop by 0.40 seconds
The No. 99 pit crew posted three stops in the 10-second bracket. Only two other teams turned-in more 10-second stops than the No. 99 pit crew.
Daniel Suárez, Driver of the No. 99 CommScope Chevrolet Camaro
Thoughts from Sunday?
“In some ways I am really disappointed because I could see how close we are to winning and I thought we might have had it Sunday. Then I also realize how good our Chevrolets are, how good my team is and how fast my pit crew is this season.”
How close are you to winning?
“We’re going to win a few races very soon here. My pit crew, those guys are legends; it’s unbelievable. It’s the best pit crew I’ve ever had, and it’s a lot of fun to race like that. I can tell you that I’m going to work very, very hard to go to Victory Lane very, very soon.”
What has CommScope meant to you?
“They are one of the reasons why I am here. CommScope has been with me for so long. Race fans sometimes don’t realize how important companies like CommScope are to our sport. I hope we can give them a trip to victory lane soon.”
No. 99 Trackhouse Team Roster
Founder: Justin Marks, Rocklin, California
President: Ty Norris, Sumter, South Carolina
Driver: Daniel Suárez, Monterrey Mexico
Crew Chief: Travis Mack, Louisville, Kentucky
Car Chief: Eddie D’Hondt Jr., East Islip, New York
Spotter: Frank Kimmel II, Jeffersonville, Indiana
Engine Builder: ECR Engines, Welcome, North Carolina
Engine Tuner: Jason Watkins, Ridgeway, Virginia
Fueler: Milan Rudanovic, Wantage, New Jersey
Front Tire Changer: Corey Baldwin, Severn, Maryland
Rear Tire Changer: Jerick Newsome, Memphis, Tennessee
Jackman: Josh Appleby, Athens, Alabama
Tire Carrier: Jeremy Kimbrough, Decatur, Georgia
Engineer: Jose R. Blasco-Figueroa, CDMX, Mexico (Mexico City, Mexico)
Engineer: Dustin Zacharyasz, Berea, Ohio
Mechanic: Griffin Rider, Lawson, Missouri
Mechanic: Alex Lacognata, Scarborough, Maine
Truck Driver: Glenn Shano, Toronto, Canada
Truck Driver: Ben Prince, Denver, North Carolina
Notes of Interest
In 2016, Suárez became the first Mexican driver to win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, claiming three victories at Michigan, Dover and the championship finale at Homestead-Miami.
Suárez owns 84 Xfinity Series starts posting three wins, 33 top-five and 55 top-10 finishes.
Suárez owns 28 Camping World Truck Series starts posting a win (Phoenix, Nov. 11, 2016) 10 top-five and 16 top-10 finishes.
In the Cup Series, Suárez owns two poles (Pocono, July 16, 2018), (Kentucky, July 12, 2019.)
Trackhouse founder Justin Marks competed in six Cup Series races with a best finish of 12th-place in the 2018 Daytona 500. He made 35 starts in the Xfinity Series posting a win, three top-five and seven top-10s. He won the Xfinity Series race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Aug. 13, 2016 driving for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Marks competed in 38 races in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series posting four top-10s and capturing two pole awards. He joined four co-drivers in winning the 2009 Rolex 24 in the GT division.
Before turning a wheel in 2021, Trackhouse Racing became one of the more popular teams in NASCAR when it announced GRAMMY® Award-winning global superstar Pitbull had become a partner. Not only is he an active partner on the Trackhouse executive team, but Pitbull also serves as a brand and philanthropic ambassador.
The Trackhouse team won the 2021 NASCAR Diversity Team Award.
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
