CONCORD, N.C. — Spire Motorsports announced Wednesday at the NASCAR Productions Facility that Daniel Suárez will drive the organization’s No. 7 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2026.
Suárez replaces Justin Haley, who had two stints with Spire but whose departure at season’s end was announced Oct. 14. Suárez will have Freeway Insurance as what the team called an “anchor partner,” and primary sponsorship from the company will be featured on the No. 7 Chevy beginning in the Daytona 500 on Feb. 15, 2026.
Suárez comes to the Jeff Dickerson and Dan Towriss-owned team after five seasons driving Trackhouse Racing’s No. 99 Chevrolet. During that time, Suárez scored both of his Cup Series victories, becoming the first Mexican-born driver to win in NASCAR’s top division in 2022 at Sonoma Raceway.
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“To me, to be quite honest with you, it was a no-brainer,” Suárez said during Wednesday’s announcement. “How Spire Motorsports has grown the last three years — I mentioned this to Jeff — three years ago, I probably wasn’t looking at Spire Motorsports as an option. Right now, I believe that this is the fastest-growing team in NASCAR, and I want to be part of that. I know that they are not even close to being done. They’re just getting started.”
Suárez made the Cup Series Playoffs twice during his Trackhouse tenure, qualifying for the 16-driver grid in 2022 and 2024. This year, he missed the postseason field and currently ranks 28th in Cup Series points.
Trackhouse announced July 1 that Suárez would not return after a mutually agreed-upon parting of ways. The move cleared the way for Connor Zilisch to reach the Cup Series and compete for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors in 2026.
Dickerson admitted Wednesday that neither Suárez nor Spire’s No. 7 team had the results either hoped for in 2025. With two races remaining this season, Suárez has two top fives and seven top 10s in the No. 99 car, his lowest totals since 2021. Haley has driven the No. 7 car to one top five and two top 10s, the lowest among his Spire teammates, Carson Hocevar and Michael McDowell.
Pairing the veteran Suárez with the No. 7 group is a move made in hopes that both can maximize their respective potential together next season.
“It’s just the thing where I think we need each other,” Dickerson said. “I think all of us love a good story of redemption and giving people a platform to prove doubters wrong. And so I think in this case, Daniel needs to show everybody that this year was an outlier, and we want to show everybody that the 7 car’s performance this year was an outlier as well.”
“This year, it was not the way that I really wanted it to go with my team, and the same thing with the 7,” Suárez said. “So I believe that we both have some things that we want to get back in place, and we’re hungry to do that.”
Spire joined Cup Series competition in 2019, registering its first and only win to date with Haley at Daytona International Speedway that July. The organization has grown quickly in the years since, expanding to its current three-car lineup in 2024.
Suárez will race as teammates next year with veteran McDowell and Hocevar, 2024’s top rookie. All three of Spire’s drivers fell short of the Cup Series Playoffs this season, with Haley ranking lowest among them, currently in 31st place in the series standings.
With Suárez sitting 28th in points, Dickerson believes there’s a “desperate” nature to Suárez’s approach for 2026 — and he likes that as Spire searches for its own stability.
“I think desperation is a big thing,” he said. “He doesn’t want to be in this situation again next year. I don’t want to be in this situation, you know? I mean, I feel like we’re … changing driver to driver to driver here. But I really just think if he can just be himself, just be steady, he’s capable of winning races and running in the top five.
“And I think that’s really just our next step is just consistently being there. We’re obviously there. It’s just, can we consistently get all three cars in that mix, and maybe not just one or some weeks two?”
Suárez rose to the national-series stage after winning in the NASCAR México Series and what’s now called the ARCA Menards Series East. After winning the Xfinity Series championship in 2016, he was promoted to the Cup Series the next year after Carl Edwards’ retirement from Joe Gibbs Racing.
Suárez also drove for Stewart-Haas Racing and Gaunt Brothers Racing before getting the call from Trackhouse founder Justin Marks for the team’s inaugural season of Cup Series competition in 2021.
That breadth of experience is a piece of the puzzle Dickerson admires in his new hire, noting the wisdom he’s gleaned throughout the garage that Suárez can now bring to Spire.
“He’s going to fit in perfect,” Dickerson said. “I think in these situations, I don’t think we have to do anything really that much different. And I don’t want Daniel doing anything different. Daniel knows how to do this. Daniel’s won races at every level, right? Won a championship. So we don’t need him to be anybody that he’s not.”
Suárez admitted a tinge of jealousy seeing the Spire cars outrun him this season. He estimates 98% of his team will be new in 2026. And with so much optimism ahead, the nine-year Cup Series veteran feels like he’s starting fresh.
“Honestly, right now, I feel like it’s kind of like my first year in the Cup Series,” Suárez said. “Like I just feel like everything is new, a lot of butterflies in my stomach, and super excited to get going.”
The team’s announcement noted the agreement for the 2026 campaign, but Dickerson clarified “we have a path forward for multiple years, for sure.”
“My goal — and I’m sure that its Spire Motorsports’ goal and Jeff’s goal — is to make this a long-term relationship,” Suárez added. “And hopefully we can write a great chapter together, winning races, fighting for championships and started to hang banners in the race shop.”