2024 Trackhouse Racing Advance – Texas Motor Speedway - Speedway Digest

Trackhouse Racing’s MotoGP team led by riders Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez will participate in the third and only American race of the 2024 season at 3 p.m. ET Sunday at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

About 222 miles away, Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain and Daniel Suárez will race at 3:30 p.m. ET in the NASCAR Cup Series event at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.

It’s been a busy week at Trackhouse Racing for both teams.

The MotoGP team spent Tuesday at the NASCAR team’s race shop in Concord, North Carolina meeting employees, joining in pit practice, eating barbecue, touring the shop, and posing for lots of pictures and videos.

Several members of the NASCAR team including Chastain and Suárez will spend the day in Austin on Friday watching MotoGP practice. Shane van Gisbergen will attend Sunday’s MotoGP race.

In December, owner Justin Marks announced Trackhouse would field a MotoGP World Championship team beginning in the 2024 season. The team is managed by Trackhouse Entertainment Group from Nashville, Tennessee but operates in Noale, Italy in an alliance with motorcycle manufacturer Aprilia and the Piaggio Group.

Race Notes

WWEX Group: It's a home race at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) for Chastain's primary partner this weekend, WWEX Group. The Dallas-based logistics company first adorned Chastain's No. 1 Chevrolet in 2022. This weekend marks the second race in a row with the blue-and-black livery on the No. 1 Chevy. Both of Chastain's 2023 wins were while driving the WWEX Group livery.
Visiting MotoGP: Chastain and teammate Daniel Suárez will head to Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas on Friday to take in MotoGP track activity. They'll watch practice sessions and explore the paddock before returning to Dallas on Friday evening in preparation for this weekends Cup Series events at TMS.
Texas Motor Speedway Stats: Last year at TMS, Chastain qualified fifth and finished second in the Cup Series race. This weekend, he's looking to finish one position better and drive into victory lane for his first win of the season.
Season Stats: Chastain has earned four top-10s in eight races so far this season along with 26 laps led. He's currently eighth in driver points.
See Chastain: Thursday, April 11 at 2 p.m. Chastain and teammate Suárez will sign autographs at the Kubota dealer located at 4701 N I-35 Frontage Road, Denton, TX 76207. On Sunday at 10:30 a.m. local time, Chastain will sign autographs at the Texas Highway Safety booth located in the TMS fan midway. Wristband required - distribution begins Saturday at display.
NASCAR: Full Speed: Catch Chastain in the five-episode docuseries NASCAR: Full Speed on Netflix. The series documented portions of Chastain's 2023 season on and off the track. All five episodes are currently available on Netflix.
Last Weekend at Martinsville: Chastain qualified 12th at Martinsville and finished ninth in Stage 2 before an issue during a green-flag pit stop in the final stage set him back a couple of positions. In a race where it proved hard to pass, Chastain ultimately finished 14th.
2023 Season Recap: Chastain won at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway in June and at the Phoenix Raceway season finale in November. He posted 10 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes in his third fulltime Cup season. The Alva, Florida native finished ninth in points.

Ross Chastain Career Statistics

Chastain Quotes:

What do you think about racing in Texas?

“It’s a huge market for us with a ton of opportunity. Racetrack-wise, we all wish we could do more there. I wish I could pass more. It truly is one of the hardest tracks to pass in my opinion. When I get a pass done, I sometimes physically celebrate in the car on the next straightaway because I did it and I did what I thought was impossible. Hopefully as it ages it opens up more and more, but we will see.”

Do you have any interest in riding a motorcycle with MotoGP?

“No chance! Not even a second-seat. Ben Kennedy was showing me some stuff. He’s ridden backseat with a guy. They were on one wheel going forward and one wheel slowing down. So no, not at all! It’s way too fast and I don’t like to be out of control.”

ABOUT WWEX GROUP:

WWEX Group, the parent brand of Worldwide Express, GlobalTranz and Unishippers, is a top-ranked, full-service logistics provider offering supercharged parcel, less-than-truckload (LTL), truckload and managed transportation shipping services for customers nationwide. Customers benefit from enhanced visibility and value-driven solutions, thanks to the company’s logistics experts, proprietary technology, unique data assets and business intelligence capabilities. The WWEX Racing initiative was born of a desire to address the complex but underserved shipping needs of the performance motorsports industry, using the unique combination of capabilities offered by the three brands’ combined 80+ years of expertise.

Meet Chastain and Suárez

Thursday, April 11 at 2:00 p.m. CT

Kubota, 4701 N. I-35 Frontage Road, Denton, Texas 76207

Suárez Notes

Kubota & Suárez: For the first time in 2024, Kubota Tractor Corporation's orange paint scheme will adorn Daniel Suárez's No. 99 Chevrolet in a NASCAR Cup Series race. Suárez will drive the Kubota Chevrolet in Sunday's 500-mile race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. In January, Kubota and Trackhouse Racing announced that Ross Chastain and Suárez would carry the Grapevine, Texas company's paint scheme in several races in the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Kubota is the U.S. marketer and distributor of Kubota-engineered and manufactured machinery and equipment, including a complete line of tractors of up to 200 Gross hp* performance-matched implements, compact construction equipment, consumer lawn and garden equipment, hay tools, commercial turf products and utility vehicles.
Texas Motor Speedway: Suárez owns four top-10 finishes in 11 starts on the 1.5-mile track.
Texas in September: Suárez started eighth but fell off the lead lap with a late race spin before regaining the lost lap and driving from 18th to eighth in the final five laps. The race was held in 100-degree weather.
Sunday in Martinsville: Suárez spent the first two-thirds of the race struggling with throttle and handling problems. Major adjustments at the start of the final stage paid dividends and saw Suárez drive from midpack to lead laps 314-326 as he stretched fuel mileage. A much-needed caution never materialized and he fell off the lead lap in the closing laps and finished 22nd.
Season So Far: Suárez is 17th in points and likely secured a place in the 2024 playoffs with his victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Feb. 25.
Atlanta Victory: At Atlanta, he and runner-up Ryan Blaney were separated by 0.003 seconds at the finish line. It was the third-closest finish in series history, and with third-place Kyle Busch just 0.007 seconds behind the winner, it also stands as the closest finish among three cars in the history of auto racing.
Trackhouse Victories: Atlanta marked Trackhouse Racing's seventh win in the NASCAR Cup Series, and first at Atlanta. Chastain owns four victories, Suárez two and one for Shane van Gisbergen.
Mexico Series: Suárez won the 150-lap Mexico Series race at the Los Angeles Coliseum on Feb. 3. It was his 11th victory.
First Mexican to Win in Cup: Suárez became the first driver from Mexico (Monterrey) to win in the NASCAR Cup Series on June 12, 2022, at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.
International Driver: He is one of six drivers not from the United States to win a NASCAR Cup Series race: Shane van Gisbergen (New Zealand), Marcos Ambrose (Australia), Juan Pablo Montoya (Colombia), Earl Ross (Canada) and Mario Andretti (Italy). Ambrose, Montoya, and Suarez own two victories each.
Cup Career Highlights: Suárez owns two victories (Sonoma 2022 and Atlanta 2024) and three Busch Light Pole Awards - Pocono (Pa.) Raceway July 2018, Kentucky Speedway July 2019, and on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway August 2023.
English is a Second Language: Suárez came to America to race. He did not speak English when he arrived in Buffalo, New York. He is the only Spanish-speaking driver in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Daniel Suárez Career Statistics

Suárez Quotes:

What are your thoughts on Texas?

“I have had some of the best finishes of my career at Texas so I am very optimistic about Sunday. We just need to keep working and getting better and I think that will happen in Texas.”

What are your thoughts about racing the Kubota Chevrolet for the first time?

“You can’t miss us. That orange paint scheme pops out on the track. Seriously, having a local company like Kubota on our car at Texas will hopefully gain us a few more fans. It’s great to have a brand like Kubota supporting our race team. I think their continued partnership says a lot about them and Trackhouse Racing and how to build a successful relationship.”

Are you excited about going to COTA for MotoGP on Friday?

‘Oh yes, I love it. These guys are crazy! Have you ever watched MotoGP? I have a ton of respect for what they do. The MotoGP team hung out with us Tuesday at our race shop and we introduced them to everything NASCAR. On Friday we are going to COTA to learn about their sport. Racers are racers no matter what series or form of racing.”

Would you ever race in MotoGP?

“My mother would never let me! She wasn’t a big fan of motorcycles. I’ll stick with cars.”

Trackhouse Racing PR