(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)
By Aaron Bearden

What’s Happening?

Two key figures in the NASCAR free agent market have been taken off the table before the season can get underway.

Trackhouse Racing struck first, announcing early Wednesday morning that Daniel Suarez has been signed to a multi-year extension. Suarez was the team’s first driver when it launched in 2021 and took the team to victory lane at Sonoma Raceway in 2022.

“Obviously, everyone at Trackhouse Racing is pleased with the performance and professionalism of Daniel both on and off the track,” team owner Justin Marks said in a team statement. “Culture has been of prime importance since the idea of Trackhouse existed only on a whiteboard in an office. Daniel has fulfilled every expectation and we look forward to the future. The best is yet to come.”

The 31-year-old is entering his third year with the organization – the most he’s ever spent with one team at the Cup level. The 2016 Xfinity Series champion made the playoffs for the first time in 2022, getting knocked out in the Round of 12 after losing power steering at the Charlotte Roval.

“Trackhouse is my home and I am very happy with this announcement,” Suárez said. “We are building something special on the No. 99 team and at Trackhouse Racing. We can’t wait to get the season started Sunday.”

Hendrick Motorsports followed Trackhouse’s news with a drop of its own, confirming that Alex Bowman has signed a three-year extension that will keep him with the No. 48 team through 2026. His primary sponsor, Ally, also re-upped in a five-year deal that runs through 2028.

“Alex is our guy and a true ally,” Ally chief marketing and public relations officer Andrea Brimmer said in a Hendrick Motorsports release. “He’s an incredible driver who shares our passion for connecting to the community. We’re proud to stand by him as his longest sponsor and expand on this true partnership.”

Team owner Rick Hendrick echoed Brimmer’s sentiment, calling Bowman “one of NASCAR’s most exciting young stars.”

“In addition to being hugely talented, he has incredible passion and commitment that set him apart,” Hendrick added. “He’s a proven winner, and I don’t know of anyone who has worked harder to reach this level. The opportunity to continue our relationships with Alex and everyone at Ally is a great way to kick off 2023. It’s a tremendous combination.”

Bowman’s arrival at HMS came when Dale Earnhardt Jr. was injured in 2016, the Arizonian splitting the ride with Jeff Gordon. Those 10 starts led to a full-time opportunity when Earnhardt retired after the 2017 season. Bowman has since gone on to become a consistent playoff contender, making the postseason in all five of his full-time seasons with Hendrick Motorsports while earning seven victories along the way.

He’s returning for his sixth season with what is now the No. 48 team in 2023 after a campaign that was impacted by a concussion that sidelined Bowman for five races in 2022. His return will come with a new crew chief – Blake Harris, a transplant from the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports team.

“It’s hard to put into words what this opportunity means to me,” Bowman said. “Having support from a sponsor like Ally, a car owner like Mr. Hendrick, and a team like Hendrick Motorsports is everything you could want as a race car driver. I’m pumped about what’s in store for the Ally 48 this season and love the direction we’re heading. We have a lot to accomplish, and it all starts this week in Daytona.”

 

Analysis

Wednesday’s early news should come with a big sigh of relief for both drivers involved.

Suarez and Bowman aren’t new to the concept of contract years. They’ve both spent prior seasons undergoing the stress and pressure of an uncertain future. Both rolled into 2023 with some concern over what could be long seasons spent waiting for news of their future. But instead they’re each locked in for years to come.

That’s in no small part due to their own success. Suarez and Bowman are each marketable and sponsor-friendly off-track, but they’ve shown talent behind the wheel as well.

Arriving at Joe Gibbs Racing amid Carl Edwards’ shock retirement in 2017, Suarez came to Cup Series fresh off of an Xfinity Series title. In that title-winning year he’d shown clear growth, bouncing back from a winless rookie season with three victories and 19 top-fives in 33 races.

Suarez’s first year in Cup was a rough one. He only had one top-five, led 40 total laps and finished 20th in the standings. He endured another difficult year in 2018 and was quickly removed from JGR, shifted out for other candidates in Toyota’s rich prospect pipeline.

From there, Suarez found it difficult to stay anywhere regularity. He found a home the following year at Stewart-Haas Racing and gave the No. 41 team his best season yet, narrowly missing out on a playoff birth. There was clear potential for the group to grow, but again Suarez was gone at year’s end in favor of another prospect in Cole Custer.

After that exit, Suarez struggled. Gaunt Brothers Racing gave him a full-time ride for 2020, but the team didn’t have the resources to be competitive. The Mexican star’s career looked to be floundering like so many others over the years.

But the launching Trackhouse Racing gave him another chance. The Justin Marks-led organization believed in Suarez and, over time, gave him equipment strong enough to win. He did just that at Sonoma Raceway in 2022. And while he was overshadowed a bit by teammate Ross Chastain, Suarez was frequently competitive and could have made a deep playoff run of his own had his car not lost power steering in Charlotte.

If there was any concern that Chastain’s run might have soured Trackhouse’s opinion of Suarez, that’s clearly been squashed. He’s finally found a team and organization to call his own for years to come.

Bowman hasn’t hopped around like Suarez, but he has endured a few waits for extensions over the years. The Arizonian arrived with the pressure of replacing the fan-favorite Earnhardt as an unknown commodity. He clearly had potential, as shown by his brief outings for the No. 88 team in 2016 and a solid 11th-place 2013 campaign for RAB Racing in the Xfinity Series. But he was unproven at the Cup level.

Over the past five seasons, Bowman has changed that narrative. He’s proven himself to be Cup worthy, winning races in each of the last four years and making the playoffs at every opportunity. But there was concern he could find himself an odd man out given the success of his teammates.

Chase Elliott became a champion in 2020. Kyle Larson did the same with an all-time great season in 2021. William Byron has yet to reach the Championship 4, but is just 25 and has won four races and improved each year. He’s expected to become a title contender as soon as this year.

Those three were all signed to new deals in 2022. Hendrick Motorsports hadn’t expressed interest in bringing in a new driver. But if it had any interest at all, Bowman was clearly the one on the hot seat.

Now that’s a non-issue. By announcing a new three-year deal before the 2023 season can even get underway, Hendrick has shown that Bowman is valued by the organization.

Bowman’s been an easy sell for Ally and proven capable of winning under the right circumstances. Now he’s rolling into the second year of the Next Gen car with a promising new crew chief (Blake Harris) and little concern over his future.

The hard part is over for both Bowman and Suarez. They can put their heads down and work to match their teammates as Championship 4 qualifiers in 2023.

 

Driver Market

A secondary effect of Wednesday’s news is a tightening of the driver market for 2024.

The pool of available talent is shrinking. Larson, Byron, Elliott, Christopher Bell, Erik Jones, Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano all signed long-term extensions in 2022. Kyle Busch and Tyler Reddick each signed with new teams heading into 2023. The two most promising young talents, Ty Gibbs and Noah Gragson, have already ascended to Cup with Joe Gibbs Racing and Legacy Motor Club.

That leaves few potential options on the table at a time when one organization, Stewart-Haas Racing, needs to find a replacement for its franchise driver. Kevin Harvick is retiring at season’s end, leaving a key spot to fill behind the wheel of the No. 4 Ford.

Ross Chastain may still be on the table, but taking him from Trackhouse will likely prove difficult after the pairing’s strong 2022 run. The best veteran available is probably Michael McDowell. The organization could also go with a young talent like Zane Smith, or bring Cole Custer back up to the Cup level.

None of these options are necessarily bad. But if Chastain is also taken off the market, it’ll be difficult for SHR to find the sort of splashy acquisition that seems fitting to replace Harvick.

Of course, many likely said the same when Hendrick Motorsports elected to bring Bowman back to its No. 88 Chevrolet in 2018. SHR might just find itself tasked with elevating the sport’s next great star.

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Alex Bowman Daniel Suarez