There are 22Â Days to Daytona left. Today, the 99 Trackhouse Racing team will be under the season preview microscope. After a successful 2022, Daniel Suarez and the team left a lot to be desired last year. No wins, missing the playoffs, and the team struggled to find consistent speed throughout the season. If 2024 resembles last season, the 99 Trackhouse team could be one of the most interesting silly season teams.
#99 Trackhouse Racing
Driver: Daniel Suarez
Crew Chief: Matt Swiderski
Sponsors: Freeway Insurance, Worldwide Express, Quaker State, Tootsies, Kubota, Jockey
2024 Season Preview
How Hot is the Seat?
After the announcement of Zane Smith and Shane van Gisbergen signing with Trackhouse, this writer pondered the heat levels of Daniel Suarez’s seat with the team. 2024 looks to be a crucial one for the driver from Mexico. At one point, it seemed unrealistic to expect Trackhouse and Suarez to ever part ways. However, Ross Chastain has now taken over as the face of the team. With Smith and (potentially) Gisbergen needing a fulltime ride soon, Suarez could be on the chopping block. If he performs well, then the seat will cool. However, that seat could be in flames by the time NBC takes over coverage.
Limit the Mistakes
In the few races where Daniel Suarez look competitive, a costly mistake would usually jeopardize any chances of a win or strong finish. Outside starting the season with 3 straight Top-10s, the only tracks where Suarez ran well were the road courses. However, this is where the mistakes reared their ugly head the most. At Sonoma, a missed shift at the start of the race spoiled a solid qualifying effort. Running over the air hose at Indy potentially lost the team the race win. Watkins Glen saw Suarez spin coming out of the chicane that ruined his race early. 2024 will need to see these type of mistakes disappear.
No More Mack, Bring in Swiderski
Recently, it was announced that Trackhouse and Kaulig Racing were trading crew chiefs. Travis Mack, Suarez’s crew chief for his entire Trackhouse tenure, will be heading to Kaulig to serve as their Cup technical director and crew chief for the 16 team. Meanwhile, Matt Swiderski will leave the 16 team to sit atop the 99 pit box. Although Suarez has experienced the most success with Mack, a poor 2023 called for a change. Is Swiderski the answer? Maybe, but the change is a welcome one for Suarez,
Daytona 500 Chances
While other drivers on this countdown (thus far) have had poor Daytona records, Daniel Suarez might have the worst one. At the historic track, Suarez has made 13 starts. In those 13 starts, he has collected 9 DNFs. On top of that, Suarez only has one Top-15 and averages a 26.2 finish. Plus, he has failed to qualify for the Daytona 500 once before (2020). However, Suarez’s lone Top-15 was a 7th in last year’s Daytona 500. Could that be the start of a momentum swing?
Speedweeks Outlook
Based on his history at Daytona, 2023 seems to be an outlier. Although, 2023 was the first time in his career that he finished both Daytona races. Since joining Trackhouse, Suarez has put up solid qualifying runs. His worst qualifying effort with the team was 12th last year. Those strong qualifying efforts have usually come undone in his duel race though. In each of his duel races, Suarez has finished worse than he started. Looking ahead to the Daytona 500, it would seem to be safe money that the 99 car finished behind the wall rather than on the track.
Previous Days
40-36 Days: 40 – #12, 39 – #5, 38 – #24, 37 – #20, & 36 – #11
35-31 Days: 35 – #45, 34 – #17, 33 – #6, 32 – #1, & #31 – #9
30-26 Days:Â 30 – #19, 29 – #22, 28 – #4, 27 – #8, & 26 – #34
