As Trackhouse Racing’s star driver, Daniel Suarez’s future in the Cup Series hangs in the balance. The pressure is mounting, and with his contract set to expire by year-end, his performance within the first four races of the season has been less than impressive. His highest finish was 13th at the Daytona 500 season opener. The Phoenix race was particularly grueling for Suarez; a collision with Katherine Legge during ‘The Desert Oddball’ significantly affected his performance.
The unfortunate incident denied Suarez a potential top-ten finish at the Shriners Children’s 500. Ahead of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway race, he candidly reflected on NASCAR’s decision to allow Legge to participate, comparing her with other part-time drivers.
Katherine Legge, a motorsports icon, holds the record for the fastest female qualifying time at the Indy 500 and is renowned for her open-wheel racing prowess. Her transition to the Cup Series, however, has not been smooth. Her inexperience in a Cup Series car was glaringly evident in Phoenix, where Daniel Suarez bore the brunt of her actions.
At Phoenix Raceway, during the closing laps, Suarez was running sixth, hoping to kickstart his season following a lacklustre start. But luck was not on his side at ‘The Jewel of the Desert.’ A spin-off on Lap 216 not only robbed the Trackhouse Racing driver of a potential top-ten finish but also resulted in a DNF for Katherine Legge in her one-off Cup Series appearance. Rather than blaming Legge, Suarez criticized NASCAR for allowing drivers with “no experience” to compete at the highest level.
In a later interview, Suarez reiterated his stance, emphasizing that NASCAR driving is distinct from other disciplines and that the process to approve drivers needs improvement. He highlighted that this is the world’s most competitive and prestigious stock car racing series, and it shouldn’t be an easy entry to the Cup Series.
Legge’s struggles during the opening laps, where she lost grip on her steering, seemed to underscore Suarez’s assertion that she was not ready for the Cup Series, at least not on oval tracks. While Legge had the necessary experience to race at Phoenix, adapting to the car proved to be a challenge. Some believe a more favorable outcome would have been possible had she raced at the Circuit of The Americas road course a week earlier.
Earlier this year, NASCAR barred Mike Wallace from competing at the Daytona 500 due to his lack of experience on intermediate or longer tracks since 2015. This decision raises questions about the approval of Helio Castroneves and Katherine Legge, who also lack experience in the stock car racing series. NASCAR’s new rules permit a ‘celebrity driver’ to compete in Cup Series races at the organization’s discretion, a privilege enjoyed by Helio Castroneves at the Daytona 500 season opener.
Despite his extensive IndyCar experience, Suarez questions whether Castroneves was fully prepared, indicating that even ‘world-class’ drivers can struggle to adjust. This suggests that NASCAR may need to revisit their selection process.
Suarez’s frustration was palpable after the Phoenix crash, fighting hard for his future in NASCAR, where every race counts towards his dream of competing in the Cup Series. Despite only four races into the season, Suarez found himself at the center of yet another crash at the Circuit of The Americas.
While the NASCAR driver approval system in the National Series Ranks has become stricter over the years, Daniel Suarez believes the selection process needs to be tougher. If Katherine Legge hadn’t been involved in the incident, fans might have praised her for a decent debut. Unlike Castroneves, Legge only had ten days to get accustomed to the Next-Gen car before her Phoenix race. Could this have been the underlying reason for the incident? Only time will tell.