The third and final race in the first round of the 2024 NASCAR Playoffs is Saturday night on the high banks of Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
Trackhouse driver Daniel Suárez arrives in Northeast Tennessee fifth of the 16 playoff drivers and 36 points ahead of the final transfer position. Drivers 13th-16th in points after Saturday night’s 500-lap race will be eliminated from the playoffs.
The second round begins Sept. 29 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas and includes races at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on Oct. 6 and the Roval at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway on Oct. 13 when four more drivers will be eliminated from the playoffs. After three rounds the remaining four drivers will race in a winner-take-all championship at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 10.
While Suárez aims for a good finish to secure playoff advancement, teammate Ross Chastain has only one aim Saturday night – victory. He led 51 laps and finished fourth at Watkins Glen on Sunday and hopes to continue the streak on the half-mile, highbanks of Bristol.
- WWEX Group: Ross Chastain will pilot the blue-and-black WWEX Group Chevrolet this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS). His last two finishes in the WWEX Group livery were in the top-13. Chastain will also drive the No. 1 WWEX Group Chevy in next month’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
- Season Stats: With eight races remaining this season, Chastain currently has the third best average finish of 14.0 among fulltime Cup Series competitors, and is 10th in most laps led this season with 242.
- Meet Chastain: On Friday at 7:30p.m. ET, Chastain will sign autographs at Food City, 125 Judge Gresham Road, Gray, Tenn. Wristband required and distribution begins in-store on Friday at 9 a.m. Saturday at 2:50 p.m. ET, Chastain will sign autographs at the Tennessee Highway Safety booth located in the BMS fan midway. Wristband required – distribution begins on Friday at the booth.
- Bristol Stats: Saturday night marks Chastain’s ninth Cup Series start at the half-mile Tennessee track. Since 2022 while driving for Trackhouse Racing, Chastain has scored a best finish of sixth.
- Last Weekend at Watkins Glen: Chastain earned his second Cup Series career pole award last Saturday at the New York track. It marked Trackhouse Racing’s third pole award since the team’s inception in 2021. The Florida native led a race high 51 laps, won Stage 2 and ultimately finished fourth in his seventh Cup start at the road course.
- NASCAR: Full Speed: Catch Chastain in the five-episode docuseries NASCAR: Full Speed on Netflix. The series documented portions of Chastain’s 2023 season on and off the track. All five episodes are currently available on Netflix.
- 2023 Season Recap: Chastain won at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway in June and at the Phoenix Raceway season finale in November. He posted 10 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes in his third full time Cup season. The Alva, Florida native finished ninth in points.
Chastain Quotes:
How do you feel after Watkins Glen race weekend?
“We’ve had more speed the last few weeks. We’re still tight and still loose, but we are going faster. That was obvious last weekend at Watkins Glen with winning the pole and leading a bunch of laps. We’ve kept showing up to the simulator and the engineers kept working really hard. I just want to drive fast cars and my job is to drive my car faster than anyone else in the race. If we keep running like this, we’ll be fine. Qualifying on the pole at a road course is a highlight.”
Tire wear continues to be a topic, what are your thoughts from Watkins Glen?
“We’re continuing to work with Goodyear and to find the limits. We had real marbles on the track last weekend, which is a little scary if you get off in them because you have no control. I think it can make for good racing though. You pay the penalty if you slide the tires too much. I think we can keep finding more ways to build these tires that will continue to move the needle.”
Suárez Notes
- Playoffs: Daniel Suárez arrives in Bristol fifth of the 16 playoff drivers and 36 points ahead of the 12th and final transfer position with just Saturday’s race remaining in the first round when four of the 16 drivers will be eliminated from playoff contention.
- Back in 2025: Trackhouse Racing announced in August that Suárez and Freeway Insurance will return to the No. 99 Chevrolet racing team for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, marking their fifth season together. Freeway will be the primary sponsor for one-third of the 2025 season, including the Daytona 500 and the NASCAR All-Star race.
- Married Man/Racer: Suárez married his fiancé Julia Piquet at a ceremony on July 30 in Brazil. Four days later he raced in the NASCAR Brazil race at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, better known as Interlagos. He won one of the three races and battled for victory in the other two races.
- Making History: Suárez now has the unique accomplishment of winning in NASCAR Mexico and Brazil in addition to all three American series.
Suárez is Now a Dual Citizen of Mexico and the United States:Suárez took the Oath of Allegiance at a naturalization ceremony on June 18 in front of media, friends, the NASCAR industry and NASCAR President Steve Phelps who gave the keynote address to the 48 new citizens from 28 countries who joined Suárez at the ceremony. The 32-year-old, Monterrey, Mexico native came to America about 13 years ago without speaking English. He passed the United States Citizenship test on April 29 in Charlotte before taking the final step on June 18. He is now a dual citizen of Mexico and the United States.
- Atlanta Victory: At Atlanta, he and runner-up Ryan Blaney were separated by 0.003 seconds at the finish line. It was the fourth-closest finish in series history, and with third-place Kyle Busch just 0.007 seconds behind the winner, it also stands as the closest finish among three cars in the history of auto racing.
- Trackhouse Victories: Atlanta marked Trackhouse Racing’s seventh win in the NASCAR Cup Series, and first at Atlanta. Chastain owns four victories, Suárez two and one for Shane van Gisbergen.
- Mexico Series Victory: Suárez won the 150-lap Mexico Series race at the Los Angeles Coliseum on Feb. 3. It was his 11th victory.
- First Mexican to Win in Cup: Suárez became the first driver from Mexico (Monterrey) to win in the NASCAR Cup Series on June 12, 2022, at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.
- International Driver: He is one of six drivers not from the United States to win a NASCAR Cup Series race: Shane van Gisbergen (New Zealand), Marcos Ambrose (Australia), Juan Pablo Montoya (Colombia), Earl Ross (Canada) and Mario Andretti (Italy). Ambrose, Montoya, and Suárez own two victories each.
- Cup Career Highlights: Suárez owns two victories (Sonoma 2022 and Atlanta 2024) and three Busch Light Pole Awards – Pocono (Pa.) Raceway July 2018, Kentucky Speedway July 2019, and on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway August 2023.
Suárez Quotes:
What were your thoughts last weekend at Watkins Glen?
“We went through a lot on Sunday but everyone stayed calm and nobody gave up. We had a fast car and running seventh then the next thing you know we were sitting in the gravel, in 35th and a lap down. We lost a wheel, and from that, we were just trying to recover. I’m very proud of this team for not giving up; doing a good job at executing and going to fight right off the bat. Finishing 13th after being stuck in the gravel isn’t a bad day.”
What are your thoughts on Bristol?
“I like Bristol a lot. We aren’t even looking at points. We will race for the win like we do every weekend. I don’t think we will take any crazy chances or try some crazy strategy this weekend. We will be smart.”
Trackhouse Racing PR
