NASCAR rumors: Stewart-Haas Racing, Richard Childress Racing talking to Daniel Suarez
By Nick Tylwalk
Daniel Suarez continues to be the name right at the center of this year’s Silly Season picture, and signs continue to point toward him landing with another top team.
When things aren’t working out well with your current employer, there’s nothing like being wanted elsewhere to help you feel better about yourself. That thought has to be buoying the spirits of Daniel Suarez as he remains at the center of the NASCAR Silly Season turbulence.
Though nothing has been confirmed by Joe Gibbs Racing, it’s been widely rumored and reported that Suarez will be shuffled aside at the end of the season to make room for Martin Truex Jr. Losing a ride at one of NASCAR’s powerhouse teams would make anyone gloomy, but Suarez has maintained that he sees “good things” for himself for next year.
Well-connected Adam Stern of SportsBusiness Journal reports that he does indeed has reason to be optimistic, because both Stewart-Haas Racing and Richard Childress Racing remain interested in his services for 2019.
Both @StewartHaasRcng and @RCRracing as of this past weekend were working on trying to sign @Daniel_SuarezG for next year, per people familiar.
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) September 24, 2018
➖ Suarez's funding is still being figured out, and RCR could elect to promote @DanielHemric to the No. 31 instead in the meantime. pic.twitter.com/qa3dwhqGPy
SHR would represent the best case scenario for Suarez (or any driver in need of a ride, frankly), putting him with the best team in the NASCAR Cup Series right now in a car that Kurt Busch has already proven has the speed to win races. RCR would be perhaps a small step down, though Austin Dillon has at least been able to manage one victory per year as of late and would be a fitting match in the “slightly too old to be Young Guns but nowhere near 40 crowd.”
However, Richard Childress Racing could end up making a move with Daniel Hemric, already in the team’s fold in the XFINITY Series , before figuring anything out with Suarez.
.@DanielHemric was reviewing contract offers for next year from both @LFR95 and @RCRracing this past weekend, but it sounds like he's leaning toward taking the deal that would place him in RCR's No. 31 @Chevrolet, per people familiar.
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) September 24, 2018
➖ No official word yet from RCR. pic.twitter.com/1Fq7kaDG1n
The 26-year-old Suarez has not won a Cup Series race in his two seasons with Joe Gibbs Racing and was the team’s only driver not to make the NASCAR Playoffs (though he’s also pretty close to being joined by Erik Jones and Denny Hamlin in being out of the running for the championship). However, he did win the XFINITY Series championship in 2016 and has had some strong finishes with JGR, including a runner-up result at Pocono this summer, so it’s not like he’s been a dramatic flop in his current ride.
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Yet you can understand Joe Gibbs Racing wanting to add Truex to its lineup now that he’s available, so it’s hard to fault the team for what everyone presumes it’s about to do. Suarez is more fortunate than many drivers in terms of his sponsor support, and despite the natural feelings of rejection he must be experiencing being left in limbo, it’s looking very possible his NASCAR story is going to have an exciting next chapter.