NASCAR Cup Series driver Daniel Suarez. Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Daniel Suarez comes up one spot shy of heroic, poetic Daytona victory

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Aug 24, 2025 9:39 AM ET

Had Daniel Suarez managed to win Saturday's Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, it would've been a win of epic proportions.

But that's not what happened.

On the same day that Trackhouse Racing named Suarez's replacement for the 2026 season in Connor Zilisch, Suarez charged from 15th with two laps to go to the top-five in the final corner.

It was Suarez's push that enabled Ryan Blaney to build the tiny gap Blaney needed to win the race. Suarez, meanwhile, was in a dogfight for second at the finish line.

The end result? A rather hollow runner-up finish and a lack of a playoff berth.

— Daniel Suárez (@Daniel_SuarezG) August 24, 2025

2025 has undoubtedly been a frustrating season for Suarez. Even after his second-place run on Saturday, he's 27th in the Cup Series standings. Saturday's race was only his sixth top-10 of the season, a mark even his rookie teammate Shane van Gisbergen came within one of matching.

A team in one of NASCAR's top-three series will, in all likelihood, come calling for Suarez, and drives like Saturday prove he still has something to offer. Unfortunately, a runner-up effort on Saturday just wasn't enough.

Both of Suarez's Trackhouse teammates, van Gisbergen and Ross Chastain, qualified for the 2025 playoffs.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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