NASCAR Silly Season: Daniel Suarez says nothing signed for 2019
By Nick Tylwalk
Daniel Suarez might be looking for a new team after just two seasons with Joe Gibbs Racing, but he says he’s not sure what his 2019 plans are just yet.
It’s easy to forget amid the flurry of NASCAR Silly Season rumors that the drivers sometimes are in tough spots, waiting to hear about their futures. Such is the case with Daniel Suarez, who is right in the center of the biggest potential NASCAR Cup Series offseason switch.
With Furniture Row Racing closing up shop at the end of 2018, the biggest rumor is that Martin Truex Jr. (and ace crew chief Cole Pearn) is on his way to Joe Gibbs Racing to take over the No. 19 Toyota next year. One problem: Suarez is in that car right now.
While nothing has been officially announced yet, Suarez has obviously heard the whispers. Yet he told ESPN’s Bob Pockrass that he has nothing to report yet when it comes to where he will drive in 2019.
"I don’t know (if I am back at JGR). Everything is a possibility right now. Everything is in the air. Nothing is signed. Nothing on paper."
He did sound a note of hopeful optimism by saying, “I think we’re going to be in good shape.” That suggests another related rumor might be true, that Suarez could end up in the No. 95 of Leavine Family Racing, which would switch to Toyota and forge the kind of technical alliance with JGR that Furniture Row Racing has had these last few years.
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Suarez might also be hinting that the Truex deal isn’t set in stone, so it’s a wait and see situation for now. The knock against the 26-year-old is that he hasn’t won at the Cup Series level while driving for one of the top two teams in the sport, but he’s also had less than two seasons to prove himself. He’s definitely not worth giving up on yet, so hopefully he finds himself in a place where he can continue to show what he can do.