Daniel Suarez received quite the 27th birthday present when he was announced as the full-time driver of the No. 41 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, the organization made official Monday.
Suarez replaces Kurt Busch who and sponsor Monster Energy have moved to Chip Ganassi Racing for the Cup Series season which fires off 41 days from today with the coveted Daytona 500 on Sun., Feb. 17, 2019.
Telecommunications empire Arris will continue its support of Suarez and make the jump from Joe Gibbs Racing to SHR to replace Monster Energy. Haas Automation – the company founded by SHR co-owner Gene Haas – will remain a co-primary partner on SHR’s No. 41 car throughout the season.
“This is the best birthday present I could ask for,” Suarez said in a news release. “We’ve all seen how competitive Stewart-Haas Racing is – all of their drivers won last year and all of them advanced deep into the playoffs.
“This is the opportunity every driver wants, and now I have it. I want to deliver for this team, our drivers, our partners in Haas Automation, Arris and Ford, and, ultimately, for me. We have everything we need to be successful.”
During a teleconference with members of the media Monday morning, Suarez says there are challenges joining a new organization but with Stewart-Haas Racing’s track record, he expects them to be minimal.
“There are definitely new challenges coming into this organization, a lot of new things for me – pretty much everything – and I’m excited to get up to the challenge. I’m trying to work hard to continue the success that the 41 car has had in the past. It’s been not too long since I was just a guy racing in the K&N Series, so just very proud and very grateful for a lot of opportunities and for this opportunity with a top caliber team as Stewart-Haas Racing.”
The 27-year-old Hispanic superstar has raised the bar for himself in his third year of Cup competition.
“I have a good feeling about this year. So far, everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing has made me feel like home and we’re gonna have our first test at a race track later this week, so I feel like a lot of good things are happening so we can perform well in and out of the race track.”
Suarez, the 2016 Xfinity Series champions has spent the last two years competing in Cup for Joe Gibbs Racing, finishing 20th and 21st respectively. Suarez found himself without a ride in September when he found himself unexpectedly shoved out of his JGR ride when JGR hired 2017 Cup champion Martin Truex Jr., whose Furniture Row Racing team found itself shutting down at the end of the 2018 season after losing sponsor 5-HOUR Energy in July.
The Monterrey, Mexico native has had an unforeseen path since winning the Xfinity Series title. He planned to defend his crown in 2017, but when Carl Edwards abruptly retired in the offseason, he was elevated to Cup.
While he finished one spot lower in the standings last season, his sophomore season brought three top-five finishes compared to one in 2017. He sat on the pole and finished a career-best second at Pocono Raceway last August. He also finished second in the 2018 NASCAR All-Star race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.
“In each series, Daniel has raced in, he’s advanced quickly from rookie to race winner,” team co-owner Tony Stewart said in a news release. “In four years, he went from the (regional) K&N Series to the NASCAR Cup Series. In between, he won an Xfinity Series championship, and he did it all while learning a new language and a new culture.
“He’s dedicated, he’s talented and we’re proud to have him as a key part of our race team.”
Haas agreed.
“We’re in racing to win and we believe Daniel Suarez can win,” Haas told the Associated Press, noting that sponsoring Suarez himself helps the growth of his machine tool building company.
“We use motorsports to showcase our latest technology and to attract the best talent in engineering and design. Daniel allows Haas Automation to strengthen its ties to the Mexican community.”
Arris and Haas Automation will split the primary sponsorship role in 2019. An exact number of races for each has not been announced, but Suarez admitted he was nervous if Arris would make the leap with him from JGR to SHR — but is thankful they stood behind him.
“Arris means a lot to myself,” sounded Suarez. “They’ve been supporting me since Day One in the NASCAR Series in 2015 and they have been super-good to me, super-loyal. I will say that I was a little bit nervous when everything started happening. I didn’t know what was gonna happen with them, but, luckily, they decided to work with us and follow with our plans. That’s something very good and I have nothing but great things to say with them working with myself.
“To be in a position that I am, it wouldn’t be possible without Haas Automation, Ford Performance and all these guys that believe in me. To be where I’m at today is something that I couldn’t ask for a better birthday present for today.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
