New NASCAR data delivers devastating blow to Cup Series star's future

Daniel Suarez's Cup Series drive has been in question for several weeks, and some new data has made the picture look bleak for the Trackhouse Racing star.

Suarez has driven the No. 99 car for Trackhouse since the team's first year in 2021 but is currently racing on a one-year deal, with Connor Zilisch pushing hard to be promoted to a full-time Cup Series seat.

The Mexican star, in his ninth full-time year at the pinnacle of NASCAR racing, is the only one of the team's three full-time drivers not to lock in a playoff place with a race win so far in 2025, and has openly admitted he may be driving for his future.

That includes Cup Series rookie Shane van Gisbergen who, despite underwhelming performances on oval courses, has finished sixth and first when the series has gone to road courses so far this year.

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Data shows Suarez losing team battle

NASCAR fan Daniel Cespedes posted a nifty graphic on Twitter this week showing how often this year a Cup Series driver has been their team's best finisher in a race, a particular consideration when drivers are often judged internally on performance compared to their team-mates.

While SvG has only been Trackhouse's best finisher twice (at COTA and Mexico City, of course), Suarez has come out on top just five times compared to Ross Chastain's ten, the second biggest gap between first and second of any team with at least two full-time drivers.

For the record, the driver dominating his own team most is RFK Racing's Chris Buescher in the No. 17, with 11 top finishes compared to Ryan Preece's four and Brad Keslowski's two.

In a contract year with his team-mates already locked into the playoffs and Zilisch knocking hard on the door with multiple Xfinity Series wins, the one thing other than race wins that could save Suarez would be consistency. Unfortunately, with three top-ten finishes all year and Chastain dominating the in-team battle, he doesn't appear to have that either.

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