After one year as driver of the #96 Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota, Daniel Suarez will part ways with the race team, GBR announced Tuesday. Suarez will finish the season in the #96, though.
“The entire team is very appreciative of the effort Daniel has put forth,” Gaunt Brothers Racing President and CEO Marty Gaunt said. “He has helped build the foundation we need for next season as well as 2022 when the NextGen car arrives. We’re both committed to earning as many points as possible in these last eight races together and finishing the season strong.”
Suarez is in his fourth year of full-time competition in the NASCAR Cup Series. After two years with Toyota team Joe Gibbs Racing in 2017 and 2018, he joined the Ford camp, specifically Stewart-Haas Racing, in 2019. When he was released from SHR to make way for Cole Custer, Suarez was reunited with Toyota, and GBR went full-time racing in the Cup Series in 2020 after two years running part-time in the series.
“I’m extremely thankful to my entire Toyota family for everything they have done for me, especially this year,” Suarez said. “I will always be grateful to them for having my back. Marty and everyone at Gaunt Brothers Racing invest a lot of time and effort into this race team, and I’m proud to have been a part of it. I have given 100 percent of myself to this team since day one, and I will continue to give 100 percent until the last lap at Phoenix. My goal has always been to win races and championships, and that will never change.”
Suarez has 135-career Cup Series starts to his credit, resulting in eight top-fives and 32 top-10 finishes. His best race finishes with Gaunt Brothers were 18th-place showings at Bristol Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway. His is 31st in the driver points standings 28 races into the 36-race season.
Suarez also is a former NASCAR Xfinity Series champion.
