Daniel Suárez may be coming off one of the biggest victories of his NASCAR Cup Series career, but that doesn’t mean he’s overlooking the areas where his team still needs improvement.
Speaking with reporters at Nashville Superspeedway, Suárez was asked about the second half of the season and what the Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 team needs to do moving forward. While the veteran driver pointed to encouraging speed and strong qualifying performances, he also acknowledged there is still work to be done if the team wants to consistently maximize its potential.
“I think that we have to continue to improve our program, right?” Suárez said. “The 7 team has shown good speed. I still feel like we have a little bit of work to do.”
One area where Suárez has seen progress is on Saturdays.
“I feel like our Saturdays (during practice and qualifying), have been pretty strong,” he said. “Eventually we get it right and see the potential of the car.”
Daniel Suárez Points To Recent Pit Crew Challenges
Despite the speed the No. 7 team has shown, Suárez said recent changes on pit road have created some growing pains.
“There has been a lot of changes in our pit crew,” he said. “So we just need a little bit of time with a new group to get some more reps and do things right.”
Suárez made it clear he appreciates the effort the group has put in while also acknowledging there have been costly mistakes in recent weeks.
“The last couple of weeks the pit crew has been working really, really hard,” he said. “With that being said, the last few weeks we’ve had issues.”
He specifically pointed to a pair of loose-wheel problems that impacted the team.
“We crashed in the All-Star Race because of a loose wheel,” Suárez said. “And we had a loose wheel in the first pit stop of the Coca-Cola 600 that put us behind as well.”
A Coca-Cola 600 Win Hasn’t Changed Suárez’s Mindset
While Suárez and the No. 7 team were ultimately able to celebrate a victory in the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600, he isn’t allowing that result to mask the team’s remaining challenges.
“We won the race but we still have a lot of work to do,” he said.
It’s a realistic assessment from a driver who believes the team has shown speed but still needs cleaner execution if it wants to build momentum throughout the summer and into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
Suárez closed his answer with a blunt reminder that he isn’t letting recent success change his perspective.
“I’m not forgetting about that,” he said. “I’m not naive.”
For Suárez, the focus during the Nashville weekend isn’t on dwelling on mistakes. It’s on making sure the No. 7 team continues improving so its performance on race day consistently matches the speed it has already shown throughout the weekend.