The NASCAR offseason is one of the shortest in professional sports. It leaves little time to make crucial changes, thus creating challenges even for established teams. This is particularly true for Trackhouse Racing.
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The Justin Marks-led team must make offseason adjustments to the teams of returning drivers Daniel Suarez and Ross Chastain so that they can be more consistently competitive in 2025. Simultaneously, Trackhouse must build a third full-time team for Shane van Gisbergen.
This is by no means a simple list of objectives that the team must complete before the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on Feb. 2.
"We still have a lot of challenges in the offseason, a lot of things that we have to improve," Suarez told FanBuzz at Phoenix Raceway. "A lot of things in the structure, in the process.
"Adding another team, we change the entire dynamic of the team. So we have a lot of work to do, not just in the 99 but in the entire company. So we're gonna be busy this offseason."
Suarez is no stranger to offseason change. The team made a crew chief change ahead of last season as it brought in Matt Swiderski to replace Travis Mack.
Suarez and his team had precious little time to gel with the man known as "Squid," but they hit the ground running. They won the second race of the season and locked up a spot in the playoffs.
The No. 99 team will remain intact heading into 2025, which streamlines the process a bit. Suarez and his team won't have to adjust to a new crew chief. They just have to refine things so they can once again be in the mix for wins and a playoff spot.
"Last year, I knew a lot of the things that we needed to change or to adjust, but I didn't know exactly how we were going to complete those things," Suarez said. "And right now, I feel like we have a very good direction of where we're going and how we're going to get it done.
"Squid, my crew chief, he's a super smart guy, one of the smartest crew chiefs I ever had. Super smart guy, so I have a lot of trust and confidence in him, and we're going to continue to build not just a stronger 99 team, but a stronger Trackhouse, because already adding a third team is a big deal. It's going to change the dynamic of the entire organization."
Trackhouse Racing has some experience fielding a third car in select races. The Project91 program launched in 2022 as Marks sought to get international drivers involved in NASCAR.
This program featured former F1 champion Kimi Raikkonen taking over the No. 91 Chevrolet in two events split between 2022 and '23. Van Gisbergen, a three-time Supercars champion, took over for two events in '23. He won his first-ever Cup Series race.
The experience of fielding a third car will benefit Trackhouse Racing as the organization expands, but challenges will remain. Going from three races in a season to 36 points-paying events is a significant feat, and it will present hurdles that Trackhouse Racing must overcome.
Fortunately for Marks, his drivers and teams are ready to embrace the process.
"I view it as a glass half full," Chastain said in response to a question from FanBuzz. "From the team side, engineering and crew chief stuff, the guys and girls that are gonna be coming in, I'm excited to get them in the shop full time soon and start working with our group after we all take a break and kind of reset.
"It's something that I just see a lot of a lot of potential there."
