00:00:00
Speaker 1: Sports Radio, 92.7 WFNZ, live from Charlotte Motor Speedway here on a Thursday afternoon, still with a whole lot to get to, talking about the race, talking about the Carolina Panthers, some Hornets news to get to, and of course, you can hit us up with all of your thoughts on the WFNZ text line, 704-570-9610. We would love to hear from you, but again, the reason for the season, the reason we are here live today and tomorrow is the Bank of America 400 coming up this weekend as the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs continue. And right now joining us is the driver of the number seven Chevy for Spire Motorsports. He is a three-time NASCAR Cup Series winner, including the reigning Coca-Cola 600 winner back in Charlotte for Sunday's Bank of America 400. Let's welcome in Daniel Suarez on the FNZ Hotline. Daniel, I appreciate you, man. How are you?
00:00:49
Speaker 2: Doing great, my friend.
00:00:49
Speaker 3: How are you doing?
00:00:50
Speaker 1: Doing excellent. I love being here. Can't wait for the race this weekend. I know you probably feel the exact same. I got to ask you, you know, you've got a lot going on right now. You won the Coke 600 here in Charlotte back in May, you know, arguably the biggest victory of your Cup Series career. When you come back to a track where you've had that kind of success, does it give you a mental advantage? And how much can you carry over from that winning setup into this Sunday's race?
00:01:15
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, you know, I mean, it's always... always exciting, you know, to come back to a racetrack as the last time winner, especially the Coca-Cola 600, right? Like, to me, it's one of the biggest races of the year. It's not the biggest to me, you know, being a Coca-Cola racing family member. And it just meant a lot. You know, that was a special race. I've been fast. I was fast, super fast several years back in the Coca-Cola 600. I was not able to to get it done, but this year was our year. So, super happy for that and now coming back for the first time back in the Oval is exciting and obviously, you know, we always want to evolve as a team. So, I guarantee you that if we come back with exactly the same thing that we had in the COC 600, we wouldn't be competitive enough. So, we have to continue to evolve and that's what we've been trying to do.
00:02:12
Speaker 1: So, You mentioned what a great year it's been. It has been. Last year, you finished 29th in points with your former team. Now you're a race winner. You're in the top 16 of the points standings. You're sitting at 14th. What changed? Was it the new equipment and the new people around you, or did changing teams just rejuvenate you personally? What do you attribute it to?
00:02:32
Speaker 2: I just decided to start pushing harder. No, I'm just kidding. I mean, it's just many things, man. People... It's really hard for people to understand the amount of things that change when you change a team.
00:02:50
Speaker 3: It changes everything.
00:02:51
Speaker 2: The culture, leadership, the structure, the system. And also, you know, this is the reality of business. Not just in sports, but in business. There is a lot of politics involved and a lot of things that you have to be in the right place at the right time. And I knew that, you know, I was super happy at Trout House for many years. But also, I knew that the end was coming, you know, last year or the last couple of years, really. And also, I saw something inspired that I haven't seen in many teams in the past, which is a lot of fast growths. for several years in a row. So I wanted to be part of that. And there is a lot of great people who.
00:03:45
Speaker 3: Inspire more sports.
00:03:47
Speaker 2: And yeah, it's been amazing. I'm so happy that the decision was right. And it's not just me saying it, but now we can prove it with results.
00:03:59
Speaker 1: Daniel, I get a lot of serious characters in these interviews, especially in the NASCAR world, but you seem like a fun guy. You're cracking jokes. I mean, you seem like a fun dude. What do you do outside of racing when you're not focused on driving and what you've got to do for a living? How do you have fun? What do you do?
00:04:16
Speaker 2: Man, I just try to enjoy my time, you know, enjoy my time. I'm very serious when it's time to be serious.
00:04:26
Speaker 3: I'm a very.
00:04:27
Speaker 2: difficult person sometimes to deal with when it's time to be like that. And also, I know how to have a good time, you know? You have to have a little bit of everything. I love spending time with my family. Family is everything to me. Especially because my family is not, well, my direct family, mom, dad, sisters, they're not here in the United States with me. They're in Mexico. So, you know, sometimes you appreciate the people that you love even more when you don't get to see them very often. Obviously, I have my wife here, Julia, and our new son, Otto, here, and it's amazing. But sometimes you miss those family times. So, yeah, it's very good, you know, spend time with family and to work in cars. I love working on cars.
00:05:17
Speaker 3: That's also one of my hobbies.
00:05:19
Speaker 2: And, yeah, it's... I'm very blessed, man, to race cars for a living and to have the family and the health that we all have.
00:05:30
Speaker 1: I've got to point out, though, you said you like working on cars. That's not as prominent or as common as it used to be for a very long time in this sport. You've got a team full of talented guys, I'm sure, with a whole lot of great technology. How much are you in there turning wrenches and being a part of that? Do they let you do that? What's your role there? Do you participate?
00:05:51
Speaker 2: I mean, not really in the race car, because we have people, an amazing group of mechanics that they do that. But if you go to my house, I have a shop, you know, and I work in my own cars. I'm very big into classic cars. So my dad, actually, I grew up in a shop. My dad is a mechanic. My dad has a restoration shop.
00:06:13
Speaker 3: So for me, that's normal.
00:06:15
Speaker 2: I guarantee you, I'm probably one of the few drivers... NASCAR today that.
00:06:21
Speaker 3: Know how to work in cars.
00:06:24
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:06:24
Speaker 3: It's not very common nowadays.
00:06:26
Speaker 2: I feel like in our life, I was born in a different generation, you know, because I just know how to work on cars very, very good.
00:06:34
Speaker 1: What's your favorite car? You said you have classic cars. What's your favorite car?
00:06:38
Speaker 2: Yeah, so I'm very big.
00:06:40
Speaker 3: My dad is very well known for restoring early Beetles and buses, you know, the Volkswagen.
00:06:47
Speaker 1: Oh, yeah. Yeah.
00:06:48
Speaker 3: Those are my favorites. Without being said, one of my favorites is also the Chevy 57 Bel Air.
00:06:54
Speaker 2: To me, that's the coolest car ever. But yeah, I just love classics.
00:07:00
Speaker 3: I think classics are amazing.
00:07:01
Speaker 1: That's awesome. We've got Daniel Suarez with Aspire Motorsports, 14th in the playoff NASCAR standings right now, ahead of the Bank of America 400 coming up on Sunday. You mentioned it. You came to America from Monterey, Mexico, chasing a dream in a sport where very few people, I think, had followed your path. Now you're a Cup Series winner. You're a former National Series champ. You won the Coke 600. How much have you grown the fandom of the sport back home? And what would young Daniel Suarez think of where you are right now?
00:07:30
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, it's, you.
00:07:33
Speaker 3: Know, when I was trying to come into the United States to race in NASCAR, I would say nine out of ten people were telling me that it was going to be very hard or impossible for a Mexican driver to be successful in NASCAR. And I didn't know that. I didn't understand that. why they were saying that. And now I'm very, very proud that that didn't stop me from continuing to follow this dream, because now we have created a path for future generations, not just from Mexico, but from Latin America. And I'm very proud to have been a small part of that. And I really hope that we can continue to build that platform to continue to bring talent from everywhere in the world, not just drivers, but mechanics, engineers, speakroom members, because I think it's very important. You know, diversity is something that is beautiful, and it's very important everywhere you go. So, yeah, I'm just the lucky one that got to be one of the first ones.
00:08:34
Speaker 1: All right, a couple quick things will get you out of here. For the first time since 2017, NASCAR is going to run this Charlotte Fall Race on the traditional oval instead of the roval. You're obviously, I think, pretty happy about that, given what happened back in May, I'm sure. But from a driver's perspective, which layout produces better racing? And do you think NASCAR made the right decision here?
00:08:54
Speaker 3: Listen, man, I love racing in ovals. I think ovals are amazing, especially Charles Morris Speedway, I think.
00:09:00
Speaker 2: Is one of the best manhavs that we have. But the robo also was very unique, you know, one of a kind.
00:09:06
Speaker 3: And I love racing in the robo. So I'm going to miss it. I personally am going to miss the robo, even though I have won in the obo.
00:09:15
Speaker 2: But I also think the changes.
00:09:16
Speaker 3: Are good, you know. Sometimes you have to spice it up a little bit and make adjustments. So I'm really looking forward to racing the obo again because, like I said, it's one of the best obos that we have in the schedule.
00:09:26
Speaker 2: So looking forward to that.
00:09:27
Speaker 1: All right, last thing. You know, NASCAR has returned to the chase format this season after years of elimination-style playoffs as somebody who has competed under both systems. Which one do you prefer? Do you think that the current format does a better job of rewarding the best driver over an entire season?
00:09:44
Speaker 2: I do think so. Listen, I enjoyed the previous format a lot. I won a championship with that format, and I think that it's amazing. It's very intense, high intensity, and you have to be very, very precise. With that being said, sometimes, you know, a champion, it means that you're a champion throughout the year, not throughout one race, in my opinion. So I believe that this new format is more in line with crowning a real champion, in my opinion. So, and listen, that doesn't mean that It's just a different way to get there. And I believe that this new format is a little bit more difficult to actually be able to get it by consistency, by results, and all the different things.
00:10:35
Speaker 1: Daniel Suarez, reigning champ of the Coke 600, driver of the number seven Chevy Camaro for Spire Motorsports, joining us on the FNZ Hotline ahead of this weekend's Bank of America 400. Daniel, great stuff. We appreciate you. Good luck this weekend, and hopefully we can do it again down the road.
00:10:50
Speaker 2: Thank you, my friend. Have a great one.
Speaker 1: Sports Radio, 92.7 WFNZ, live from Charlotte Motor Speedway here on a Thursday afternoon, still with a whole lot to get to, talking about the race, talking about the Carolina Panthers, some Hornets news to get to, and of course, you can hit us up with all of your thoughts on the WFNZ text line, 704-570-9610. We would love to hear from you, but again, the reason for the season, the reason we are here live today and tomorrow is the Bank of America 400 coming up this weekend as the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs continue. And right now joining us is the driver of the number seven Chevy for Spire Motorsports. He is a three-time NASCAR Cup Series winner, including the reigning Coca-Cola 600 winner back in Charlotte for Sunday's Bank of America 400. Let's welcome in Daniel Suarez on the FNZ Hotline. Daniel, I appreciate you, man. How are you?
00:00:49
Speaker 2: Doing great, my friend.
00:00:49
Speaker 3: How are you doing?
00:00:50
Speaker 1: Doing excellent. I love being here. Can't wait for the race this weekend. I know you probably feel the exact same. I got to ask you, you know, you've got a lot going on right now. You won the Coke 600 here in Charlotte back in May, you know, arguably the biggest victory of your Cup Series career. When you come back to a track where you've had that kind of success, does it give you a mental advantage? And how much can you carry over from that winning setup into this Sunday's race?
00:01:15
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, you know, I mean, it's always... always exciting, you know, to come back to a racetrack as the last time winner, especially the Coca-Cola 600, right? Like, to me, it's one of the biggest races of the year. It's not the biggest to me, you know, being a Coca-Cola racing family member. And it just meant a lot. You know, that was a special race. I've been fast. I was fast, super fast several years back in the Coca-Cola 600. I was not able to to get it done, but this year was our year. So, super happy for that and now coming back for the first time back in the Oval is exciting and obviously, you know, we always want to evolve as a team. So, I guarantee you that if we come back with exactly the same thing that we had in the COC 600, we wouldn't be competitive enough. So, we have to continue to evolve and that's what we've been trying to do.
00:02:12
Speaker 1: So, You mentioned what a great year it's been. It has been. Last year, you finished 29th in points with your former team. Now you're a race winner. You're in the top 16 of the points standings. You're sitting at 14th. What changed? Was it the new equipment and the new people around you, or did changing teams just rejuvenate you personally? What do you attribute it to?
00:02:32
Speaker 2: I just decided to start pushing harder. No, I'm just kidding. I mean, it's just many things, man. People... It's really hard for people to understand the amount of things that change when you change a team.
00:02:50
Speaker 3: It changes everything.
00:02:51
Speaker 2: The culture, leadership, the structure, the system. And also, you know, this is the reality of business. Not just in sports, but in business. There is a lot of politics involved and a lot of things that you have to be in the right place at the right time. And I knew that, you know, I was super happy at Trout House for many years. But also, I knew that the end was coming, you know, last year or the last couple of years, really. And also, I saw something inspired that I haven't seen in many teams in the past, which is a lot of fast growths. for several years in a row. So I wanted to be part of that. And there is a lot of great people who.
00:03:45
Speaker 3: Inspire more sports.
00:03:47
Speaker 2: And yeah, it's been amazing. I'm so happy that the decision was right. And it's not just me saying it, but now we can prove it with results.
00:03:59
Speaker 1: Daniel, I get a lot of serious characters in these interviews, especially in the NASCAR world, but you seem like a fun guy. You're cracking jokes. I mean, you seem like a fun dude. What do you do outside of racing when you're not focused on driving and what you've got to do for a living? How do you have fun? What do you do?
00:04:16
Speaker 2: Man, I just try to enjoy my time, you know, enjoy my time. I'm very serious when it's time to be serious.
00:04:26
Speaker 3: I'm a very.
00:04:27
Speaker 2: difficult person sometimes to deal with when it's time to be like that. And also, I know how to have a good time, you know? You have to have a little bit of everything. I love spending time with my family. Family is everything to me. Especially because my family is not, well, my direct family, mom, dad, sisters, they're not here in the United States with me. They're in Mexico. So, you know, sometimes you appreciate the people that you love even more when you don't get to see them very often. Obviously, I have my wife here, Julia, and our new son, Otto, here, and it's amazing. But sometimes you miss those family times. So, yeah, it's very good, you know, spend time with family and to work in cars. I love working on cars.
00:05:17
Speaker 3: That's also one of my hobbies.
00:05:19
Speaker 2: And, yeah, it's... I'm very blessed, man, to race cars for a living and to have the family and the health that we all have.
00:05:30
Speaker 1: I've got to point out, though, you said you like working on cars. That's not as prominent or as common as it used to be for a very long time in this sport. You've got a team full of talented guys, I'm sure, with a whole lot of great technology. How much are you in there turning wrenches and being a part of that? Do they let you do that? What's your role there? Do you participate?
00:05:51
Speaker 2: I mean, not really in the race car, because we have people, an amazing group of mechanics that they do that. But if you go to my house, I have a shop, you know, and I work in my own cars. I'm very big into classic cars. So my dad, actually, I grew up in a shop. My dad is a mechanic. My dad has a restoration shop.
00:06:13
Speaker 3: So for me, that's normal.
00:06:15
Speaker 2: I guarantee you, I'm probably one of the few drivers... NASCAR today that.
00:06:21
Speaker 3: Know how to work in cars.
00:06:24
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:06:24
Speaker 3: It's not very common nowadays.
00:06:26
Speaker 2: I feel like in our life, I was born in a different generation, you know, because I just know how to work on cars very, very good.
00:06:34
Speaker 1: What's your favorite car? You said you have classic cars. What's your favorite car?
00:06:38
Speaker 2: Yeah, so I'm very big.
00:06:40
Speaker 3: My dad is very well known for restoring early Beetles and buses, you know, the Volkswagen.
00:06:47
Speaker 1: Oh, yeah. Yeah.
00:06:48
Speaker 3: Those are my favorites. Without being said, one of my favorites is also the Chevy 57 Bel Air.
00:06:54
Speaker 2: To me, that's the coolest car ever. But yeah, I just love classics.
00:07:00
Speaker 3: I think classics are amazing.
00:07:01
Speaker 1: That's awesome. We've got Daniel Suarez with Aspire Motorsports, 14th in the playoff NASCAR standings right now, ahead of the Bank of America 400 coming up on Sunday. You mentioned it. You came to America from Monterey, Mexico, chasing a dream in a sport where very few people, I think, had followed your path. Now you're a Cup Series winner. You're a former National Series champ. You won the Coke 600. How much have you grown the fandom of the sport back home? And what would young Daniel Suarez think of where you are right now?
00:07:30
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, it's, you.
00:07:33
Speaker 3: Know, when I was trying to come into the United States to race in NASCAR, I would say nine out of ten people were telling me that it was going to be very hard or impossible for a Mexican driver to be successful in NASCAR. And I didn't know that. I didn't understand that. why they were saying that. And now I'm very, very proud that that didn't stop me from continuing to follow this dream, because now we have created a path for future generations, not just from Mexico, but from Latin America. And I'm very proud to have been a small part of that. And I really hope that we can continue to build that platform to continue to bring talent from everywhere in the world, not just drivers, but mechanics, engineers, speakroom members, because I think it's very important. You know, diversity is something that is beautiful, and it's very important everywhere you go. So, yeah, I'm just the lucky one that got to be one of the first ones.
00:08:34
Speaker 1: All right, a couple quick things will get you out of here. For the first time since 2017, NASCAR is going to run this Charlotte Fall Race on the traditional oval instead of the roval. You're obviously, I think, pretty happy about that, given what happened back in May, I'm sure. But from a driver's perspective, which layout produces better racing? And do you think NASCAR made the right decision here?
00:08:54
Speaker 3: Listen, man, I love racing in ovals. I think ovals are amazing, especially Charles Morris Speedway, I think.
00:09:00
Speaker 2: Is one of the best manhavs that we have. But the robo also was very unique, you know, one of a kind.
00:09:06
Speaker 3: And I love racing in the robo. So I'm going to miss it. I personally am going to miss the robo, even though I have won in the obo.
00:09:15
Speaker 2: But I also think the changes.
00:09:16
Speaker 3: Are good, you know. Sometimes you have to spice it up a little bit and make adjustments. So I'm really looking forward to racing the obo again because, like I said, it's one of the best obos that we have in the schedule.
00:09:26
Speaker 2: So looking forward to that.
00:09:27
Speaker 1: All right, last thing. You know, NASCAR has returned to the chase format this season after years of elimination-style playoffs as somebody who has competed under both systems. Which one do you prefer? Do you think that the current format does a better job of rewarding the best driver over an entire season?
00:09:44
Speaker 2: I do think so. Listen, I enjoyed the previous format a lot. I won a championship with that format, and I think that it's amazing. It's very intense, high intensity, and you have to be very, very precise. With that being said, sometimes, you know, a champion, it means that you're a champion throughout the year, not throughout one race, in my opinion. So I believe that this new format is more in line with crowning a real champion, in my opinion. So, and listen, that doesn't mean that It's just a different way to get there. And I believe that this new format is a little bit more difficult to actually be able to get it by consistency, by results, and all the different things.
00:10:35
Speaker 1: Daniel Suarez, reigning champ of the Coke 600, driver of the number seven Chevy Camaro for Spire Motorsports, joining us on the FNZ Hotline ahead of this weekend's Bank of America 400. Daniel, great stuff. We appreciate you. Good luck this weekend, and hopefully we can do it again down the road.
00:10:50
Speaker 2: Thank you, my friend. Have a great one.
