NASCAR Cup Series star admits contract situation 'distracting'

A NASCAR star in a contract year has admitted that ongoing negotiations with his team are an unwelcome distraction.

Daniel Suarez is currently racing for Trackhouse Racing alongside Ross Chastain, Shane van Gisbergen and Xfinity Series starlet Connor Zilisch, with the team yet to announce their 2026 lineup.

The team has three charters for full-time Cup Series entries, with Zilisch pushing to be promoted from the Xfinity Series with some strong performances, putting pressure on one of the three drivers currently holding those spots.

Suarez admitted ahead of this month's Cup Series race in Mexico City that while he and team co-owner Justin Marks are talking regularly about a contract extension, the deal is far from sealed and it's an ongoing distraction.

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Suarez: I wish I didn’t have to have these conversations

“The trajectory of Trackhouse has been tremendous," he said. "We have learned so many things. I really want to help Justin bring Trackhouse to the next level. I believe that 2022 has been our best year as a company, still. So why is that?

"Are we missing something? Do we have to change something? What do we need to do better? As a new team, to have your best years that early, it’s kind of uncommon. One of the reasons, I believe, was because of the new car. So I believe that we have to continue to grow.

“Ross just won a race a couple weeks ago, and that’s brought a lot of energy to the team and some more momentum. Before that, it was a little bit of a struggle. So we have to continue to find that speed in a consistent basis, just like the big teams. So we’re having all these conversations.

“I’m going to be quite honest with you: I wish I didn’t have to have these conversations, and I didn’t have these distractions, but it’s part of life, right? Sometimes you have to do several things at the same time. But I’m trying not to think about it too much and trying to work in my job and push as hard as possible for competition and trying to help the team slowly get better and better.”

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