Excuse Daniel Suárez if he prefers to see a new ending to what seems like the same movie he’s watched the last two weeks.
At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on July 31 and at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn on Sunday it appeared the Monterrey, Mexico native was in perfect position to win his second and maybe third races in 2022.
He dodged carnage and moved to third in overtime at Indy and at Michigan he led 33 of 200 laps and once again seemed ready to visit victory lane.
But tire problems on the final lap at Indy and an untimely caution after a green flag stop plus a cut tire on the final lap at Michigan ended both victory bids and left him with finishes of 28th and 25th.
Before Indy and Michigan, Suárez had posted four consecutive top-9s.
On Sunday he hopes for a better ending when the Cup Series visits the three-quarter mile, D-shaped oval at Richmond (Va.) Raceway. Suárez will pilot the No. 99 CommScope Chevrolet on the track where he finished 16th on April 3.
Suárez knows his Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaros are fast. With 13 races remaining in 2022 he’s already set career highs in victories (1), top-fives (9) and laps led (236.)
A little luck in the final laps and he’ll add to those totals.
USA Network will televise Sunday’s race in Richmond at 3 p.m. EDT.
Playoff Standings
Daniel Suárez, Driver of the No. 99 CommScope Chevrolet
Do you get frustrated with the way the last two weeks have gone?
“You get mad for a bit and disappointed, but not frustrated. Our Chevrolets have been really fast. We were in position to win at Indy. We were second headed to the final lap and we had a cut tire.
“On Sunday, if the race had gone without a caution another lap, we would have been back up in the lead. It was just bad luck on the timing. If we keep running as well as we have the last two weeks luck will turn our way and we will be very happy.”
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
Mechanic: Tony Barkman, Rio Vista, California
Truck Driver: Glenn Shano, Toronto, Canada
Truck Driver: Ben Prince, Denver, North Carolina
CommScope, a global leader in network connectivity solutions, will make 11 appearances as the primary partner on Daniel Suárez’s No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season.
This is the eighth year that CommScope has sponsored Suárez on the NASCAR circuit, its second through Trackhouse Racing.
CommScope’s support of NASCAR extends to the technology side, deploying wired and wireless connectivity solutions in numerous racing venues and stadiums including Daytona International Speedway and Phoenix Raceway. The company provides in-building cellular and WiFi networks, venue and data center cabling solutions, and other network products to create the world’s most advanced networks.
CommScope (NASDAQ: COMM) is pushing the boundaries of technology to create the world’s most advanced wired and wireless networks. Its global team of employees, innovators and technologists empower customers to anticipate what’s next and invent what’s possible. Discover more at www.commscope.com
Notes of Interest
Suárez becomes the first driver from Mexico (Monterrey) to win in the NASCAR Cup Series on June 12, 2022 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.
He became the fifth different driver all-time not from the United States to win a NASCAR Cup Series race; joining Marcos Ambrose (Australia), Juan Pablo Montoya (Colombia) Earl Ross (Canada) and Mario Andretti (Italy).
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 39 races in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series posting four top-10s and capturing two pole awards. He started eighth and finished 31st at Mid-Ohio on July 9, 2022.
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.
Marks won the 2022 “Byrnsie Award” from Fox.
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
