CONCORD, N.C. — Daniel Suarez has found his home for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. He has joined forces with Spire Motorsports.
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The announcement took place on Wednesday at the NASCAR Productions Facility. Spire Motorsports announced that Suarez will take over the No. 7 Chevrolet during the 2026 season. He will replace Justin Haley.
He will remain in the Chevrolet camp but will move to a new organization after spending the past five seasons at Trackhouse Racing.
#NASCAR - @SpireMotorsport announces that @Daniel_SuarezG will join the team next season. He will drive the No. 7. pic.twitter.com/zmNL86JSIJ
— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) October 22, 2025
"Spire's growth over the last few years is quite impressive," Suarez said in a press release. "That's something I have mentioned to every single member who I have talked to at Spire Motorsports. I'm sure I'm not the only person who can see that and I'm excited to be part of it now.
"I know that even with the growth Spire has had the last few years, it hasn't reached its full potential, just yet. There is a lot more out there to achieve, and I want to be part of that. I want to be part of that growth and use my experience to help my team, and the entire company continue to grow."
Freeway Insurance will join Spire Motorsports while continuing its partnership with Suarez. The company will serve as his anchor partner during his first season with the team.
Suarez made his move to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2017 after winning the 2016 Xfinity Series championship with Joe Gibbs Racing. He took over the No. 19 Toyota after Carl Edwards suddenly retired, but he only spent two seasons with the team.
Joe Gibbs Racing brought Martin Truex Jr. into the fold in 2019 after Furniture Row Racing exited the Cup Series, so Suarez moved on to Stewart-Haas Racing. He spent one season with the team and finished a career-best 17th in the championship standings, but he ultimately lost his ride to Cole Custer.
The 2020 season, one of the oddest in NASCAR history, featured Suarez driving for Gaunt Brothers Racing. He qualified for all but one of the races that season for the small team.
It seemed that Suarez truly found his home in 2021. He joined the newly-formed Trackhouse Racing and became the team's first full-time driver. He went on to spend five seasons in the No. 99 Chevrolet while scoring two Cup Series wins and appearing in the playoffs twice.
Suarez was a mainstay at Trackhouse Racing, until he wasn't. He and the team announced in July that he would not return to the organization after the 2025 season. The team would move forward with Ross Chastain, Shane van Gisbergen, and Connor Zilisch as its three drivers.
This move surprised some, but Suarez indicated to media members that he had expected it. He pointed to what appeared to be a breakdown in communication as a cause for the split.
"First of all, Ross is a very good driver," Suarez said in early July. "I give him credit for that. Since my new crew chief (Matt Swiderski) came to Trackhouse, he told me a lot of things that he didn't think were right within the organization and a lot of things that needed to be changed.
"I've been being very vocal with the team, 'Hey, we need to adjust this, we need to adjust that.' I'm not the only one seeing it. There is more people seeing it. And not a lot of things happened. Everything happened so slow."
With this spot secure, Suarez will continue competing at the top level of NASCAR. He will head into the 2026 season with the growing team, and he will aim to deliver Spire wins and playoff appearances.
