Trackhouse Racing driver reveals how his early animosity with Talladega slowly faded

As the NASCAR Cup Series returns from the only week off for the 2025 season, Trackhouse Racing drivers share their thoughts and preparation for the upcoming race at Talladega Superspeedway. Notably, Daniel Suarez, who pilots the No. 99 Chevrolet, stated that he used to dislike Superspeedways like Talladega at first, but has come to enjoy the drafting style of racing the more he does it.

Before joining Trackhouse Racing in 2021, Suarez had just one top-10 finish at Talladega, which came at the Spring race in 2018. Since joining Trackhouse, he has had a run of three consecutive top-10 finishes between October 2022 and October 2023.

When asked to share his thoughts on racing at the 2.66-mile tri-oval this weekend, the Trackhouse Racing driver said, via Speedway Digest:

"I love Talladega. At first, I really didn't like superspeedway racing, but the more I did it, the more I started to enjoy it. We have been so close so many times on the superspeedway. One of these days we are going to win one of these races, and I hope it is Sunday."

In the off-week, Suarez took a trip to Mexico as part of a big media tour and unveiled the Telcel paint scheme he will use in the race at Mexico's Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit on Father's Day, June 15. At Talladega, Suarez will sport the colorful Wendy's paint scheme for the first time this season on his No. 99 Chevrolet.

Speaking about his recent trip to Wendy's headquarters, Suarez joked about being fit to work at any Wendy's outlet in the country.

"Ross, Shane, and I went to Wendy's headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, two weeks ago, and they taught us how to make Frosty's. I think I'm ready to go to work in any Wendy's in the country now. It's a pretty colorful paint scheme, and it should be easy to see us in Talladega this weekend."

Suarez is sitting in the 27th spot in the drivers' standings with 151 points to his name.

---

Trackhouse Racing's Ross Chastain and SVG also share their two cents on racing at Talladega

Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain is no stranger to the highs and lows of Talladega. He said that he's excited to return to the track, even though it's known for its unpredictable nature of racing. Chastain called it "fun" because of how unexpected things can get, and he’s experienced both the good and the bad at the tri-oval.

Suarez's win at Talladega in 2022 with Trackhouse Racing stands out as a big moment in his career, but he also mentioned times when he didn’t even finish because of crashes. This weekend, Chastain will drive the car with Jockey sponsorship, and he said he would love to get them into victory lane.

For Shane van Gisbergen, Talladega was still a relatively new experience. He called the track "epic" and said that there's nothing else like it. Superspeedway racing, which involves a lot of drafting and close packs of cars, has been a challenge for him as he was more accustomed to road course style tracks during his time in the Australian Supercars championship.

When asked to explain how he manages to balance between when to analyze a situation and when to be decisive, SVG shared:

"It's all in the preparation. You got to have a clear mind when you're racing, things become instincts. There's a lot of teamwork, too, with the spotter because he is going to be guiding me. Spotters are probably the most important thing when superspeedway racing. I just trust Josh's (Williams) guidance."

The Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway is scheduled for Sunday, April 27, and the race will start at 3:00 pm ET.