The first of three second-round races in the 2024 NASCAR Playoffs is Sunday at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas.
Trackhouse driver Daniel Suárez arrives in Kansas 10th of the 12 playoff drivers and six points behind the eighth and final transfer position.
The second round also includes races at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on Oct. 6 and the Roval at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway on Oct. 13 when four of the remaining 12 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.
Trackhouse driver Ross Chastain continues the hunt for his first win of the season after a 10th-place Saturday night at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. It marked his second consecutive and 11th top-10 of the season.
Since the playoffs began three races ago, Chastain has scored the fourth- and Suárezthe 10th-most points of all drivers.
- Kubota Tractor Corporation: Ross Chastain will pilot the orange-and-black Kubota Tractor Corporation livery this weekend at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. Each time Chastain has been behind the wheel of the No. 1 Chevy with the Kubota livery this season, he’s finished in the top-10. A streak he hopes to keep alive this weekend in Kansas in his quest to finish the season strong and with a trip to victory lane.
- Big Kansas Weekend for Kubota: In addition to Chastain piloting the No. 1 Chevy on Sunday, Kubota Tractor Corporation is the entitlement sponsor for the Kubota Tractor 200 Camping World Truck Series race on Friday night at the 1.5-mile speedway. Kubota will also have a display presence in the Kansas fan midway with representatives on-site to discuss job openings at their Kansas facilities.
- $10,000 Donation for Top-10 Finish: For the second year, Kubota and Trackhouse Racing are putting the partnership in overdrive in support of farmer veterans. In the races Kubota is serving as the primary sponsor of Chastain’s No. 1 Kubota Chevrolet, a $10,000 donation will be made to the Farmer Veteran Coalition for a top-10 finish. The Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC) is a national nonprofit organization that assists military veterans and currently serving members of the Armed Forces to transition into careers in farming, and since 2015, Kubota has partnered with FVC on the “Geared to Give” program which has provided more than $900,000 to the coalition in the form of organizational support, grants to veterans and 41 pieces of donated equipment. So far this season, Chastain has secured a total of $40,000 in donations with a fourth-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, sixth-place finish at Phoenix Raceway, fifth-place finish at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway and 10th-place at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Chastain has two more opportunities to raise up to an additional $20,000 for FVC if he finishes in the top-10 this weekend at Kansas, and when he drives the Kubota livery for the final time this season at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway in October.
- Season Stats: With seven races remaining this season, Chastain currently has the fourth best average finish of 13.9 among fulltime Cup Series competitors, and is 10th in most laps led this season with 242.
- Meet Chastain: On Saturday at 10 a.m. local time, Chastain will appear for a Q&A at the Kubota display located in the Kansas fan midway.
- Kansas Stats: Sunday will mark Chastain’s 12th Cup Series start at the 1.5-mile track. In May, the Florida native earned the outside pole position and led 43 laps before finishing 19th. Since driving the No. 1 for Trackhouse Racing, Chastain has accumulated one top-five and three top-10 finishes at the Kansas track.
- Last Weekend at Bristol: Chastain qualified 12th for last Saturday night’s race at the Tennessee track. After several adjustments to his No. 1 Chevrolet, he made his way into the top-10 in the final stage. Chastain completed all of the laps and ultimately finished 10th in the 500-lap race.
- 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 point
Chastain Quotes:
How cool is it to drive the Kubota car?
“I love driving the Kubota Chevy. Its so cool to get to drive a car with a brand on it that is authentic to me. They’re a great group to work with and I enjoy getting to meet the employees, dealers and visiting some of their facilities. They’re obviously big into agriculture which I am very passionate about and my family is passionate about. And there’s a trend when I’m in the Kubota car – solid finishes. Each time I’ve finished in the top-10 in the Kubota car they’ve been donating $10,000 to the Farmer Veteran Coalition. I hope they have to donate $10,000 more after Sunday’s race too (laughs).”
Do you look forward to going to Kansas Speedway?
“I love going to Kansas Speedway and I enjoy going to Kansas in general. The track is fun to race on and it has been amazing to see the growth around the track. It’s a destination now with all of the restaurants and shops in front of the track. We led quite a few laps when we were there earlier this year. I hope to lead a bunch more laps this weekend and the most important one, the last lap. We’ve put together a string of strong runs here the last few weeks and I want to continue that this weekend.”
Suárez Notes
- Playoffs: Daniel Suárez arrives in Kansas 10th of the 12 playoff drivers and six points behind the eighth and final transfer position with three races remaining in the second 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 in August 2023.
Suárez Quotes:
How does the next round of the playoffs stack up for you and the No. 99 team?
“I think we’re going to be pretty good. I’m excited for Kansas. I think we can compete there. A superspeedway, as we all know, anything can happen. And a road course in there always puts a smile on my face.
“It’s going to be interesting. Kansas is a high-speed track where we run just inches from the wall. The restarts are pretty wild there and should make for some close racing. Talladega is a huge wildcard. Anything can happen. You can gain a lot or lose a lot. The Roval is kind of the same. You must decide if you are racing for points, stay out before the stage breaks, or pit for better track position, and battle for the win. Our strategy is to win either Kansas or Talladega and then we won’t worry about points at the Roval.”
Are you points racing in the second round?
“I think everyone in the playoffs is points racing, to some extent. But that doesn’t mean we are on defense. I can’t be on defense. We have to be on offense. We aren’t going to take any crazy chances or anything like that but we are going to race hard.”
