Trackhouse Racing Owner Says Team is in a “Rebuilding Phase”
What’s Happening? Following another trying weekend for Trackhouse Racing, team owner Justin Marks says his team is working through a “rebuilding…
With just one Trackhouse Racing car sitting above the Chase cutline, NASCAR fans are wondering whether or not Daniel Suarez’s 2026 departure from the team was a win for the series veteran.
Daniel Suarez and Trackhouse Racing went their separate ways last year, with the driver landing at Spire Motorsports this season to wheel the No. 7 Chevrolet.
The deal runs for a year, meaning nothing is guaranteed beyond this year, but given his start to the new year, Suarez may have given his new home a reason to keep the door open.
Back at Trackhouse, the 2026 campaign has not found its rhythm.
Outside of Shane van Gisbergen, brought in by Justin Marks in 2023 under Project 91, who won on debut at the Chicago Street Course and then secured a full-time seat last year, the rest of the roster has struggled to string together results.
Ross Chastain and Connor Zilisch have shown flashes, but the returns have been thin, with each driver struggling in the early stages of the new year.
Chastain, runner-up in the 2022 standings, has finished in the top five in one race through eight starts this season and sits 21st in points.
Zilisch, promoted to a full-time role this year in place of Suarez, was not expected to match his 10-win run in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, but most expected the rookie to keep the car in a decent position. In his first few full-time starts, Zilsich has found the going tough at the next level. In eight starts, he has two DNFs and stands 33rd in the standings.
There have been moments where both drivers have shown pace, but the team, by Justin Mark’s own admission, is in a rebuilding phase this season.
Results have clustered in the middle of the order, with Chastain and company searching for the form that once put them in the hunt. Owner Justin Marks has acknowledged the struggle, with speed and consistency proving hard to come by despite the reset.
On the contrary, Suarez has kept his head above water.
Through eight races, he has stacked one top-five finish and two top-10s. In his latest outing, at Bristol Motor Speedway, he brought the No. 7 home in 12th after starting 13th, again besting his former teammates’ results.
Besides that, Suarez sits 15th with 192 points, 194 behind leader Tyler Reddick, and ahead of the Trackhouse drivers. SVG is 16th, 15 points adrift of Suarez, while the rest trail further back.
For now, the split has tilted in Suarez’s favor, but, as the year goes on, this could change, and the momentum of a new home could slow into the summer months.
What’s Happening? Following another trying weekend for Trackhouse Racing, team owner Justin Marks says his team is working through a “rebuilding…
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