Daniel Suárez has spent his career learning how to shut out everything else once he climbs into a race car.
Bristol may put that ability to its toughest test yet.
Suárez plans to start Saturday night’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race while his wife, Julia Piquet, remains home awaiting the birth of their first child. The couple’s original due date was Thursday, Sept. 17. By the time Suárez arrived at Bristol Motor Speedway, the waiting had become very real.
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So real, in fact, that Spire Motorsports has already prepared for the possibility that its driver may suddenly have somewhere much more important to be.
Justin Allgaier is on standby to take over the No. 7 Chevrolet if necessary. This isn’t merely a name penciled onto an emergency plan, either. Allgaier has already climbed into Suárez’s car to make sure the cockpit fit would work if a mid-race driver change becomes necessary.
For now, though, Suárez is racing.
“It’s coming, and it’s coming very soon,” Suárez said Friday. “I think last night, for the first time, we actually had like a little ‘oh [expletive]’ moment, so yeah, I mean [wife] Julia is already at home right now, and she’s doing amazing. I feel like I’m way more nervous than her.”
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That last admission says plenty.
Suárez describes himself as decidedly not an anxious person. He has spent years handling the pressure that comes with racing at NASCAR’s highest level. Put him inside a car and, as he tells it, the rest of the world usually disappears.
This time, understandably, it hasn’t.
Justin Allgaier is ready if Daniel Suárez gets the call
There is another reason Suárez isn’t simply sitting Bristol out and waiting at home.
He has a championship to race for.
Suárez enters the third race of the 10-race Chase 16th among the championship contenders, 119 points behind leader Denny Hamlin. Only 20% of the Chase has been completed, and Suárez isn’t ready to surrender an entire race’s worth of points when he still believes the No. 7 team can climb significantly higher before the season ends.
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“Honestly, the points situation. I mean, I think there is still a lot to fight for,” Suárez said. “We have 20% of The Chase in only, so there is a lot to fight for. I believe that my team is capable of running to finish the championship in the top 10, top eight maybe. So that’s where my mind is.”
Then comes the other reality.
“But with that being said, Justin Allgaier already sat in my car, making sure that he fits OK,” Suárez continued. “I mean, who knows what is going to happen? But hopefully it doesn’t come to that.”
It is a balancing act that extends well beyond Saturday night.
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Spire co-owner Jeff Dickerson has helped Suárez squeeze as much time at home as possible during these final days of waiting. Suárez was allowed to travel to World Wide Technology Raceway last Saturday instead of Friday, buying him another day with Piquet.
He planned to do something similar at Bristol, heading back home Friday night before returning for Saturday’s race.
There isn’t much more either Suárez or Spire can control. The No. 7 team can have Allgaier fitted for the car. Travel can be adjusted. Contingency plans can be made.
The baby’s schedule is another matter entirely.
Daniel Suárez is hoping for one more quiet night
Suárez can laugh about the predicament, at least for now.
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“I’m gonna race because listen, especially here in Bristol, the window is — if I miss the baby, I’m with Julia 90 percent of the time. So if I miss the baby, it’s the baby trying to tell me something,” Suárez said.
“Who knows when it’s going to happen? But I’m going back home here in a little bit (Friday night) and hopefully everything goes smooth. Hopefully the baby doesn’t come until Sunday or Monday. I think it’s going to come very soon. So hopefully, it’s not (Saturday).”
That would certainly make life easier.
But the uncertainty has gotten to Suárez in a way racing rarely does.
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“I’m not an anxious person. I’m very chill,” he said. “People that know me will tell you that I don’t get very nervous. I just go do my thing, and I’m very cold. And if I’m in the car, I focus only on the car, and I don’t get distracted.”
Then came the part that probably best captures just how different this weekend feels.
“But this is the one thing that actually has had my mind on it quite a bit. I guess something is changing.”
Soon, plenty will.
Suárez is preparing to become a father while simultaneously trying to claw his way back into NASCAR’s championship fight. On Saturday, he’ll attempt to handle both worlds the only way he really can: race until there is a reason not to.
If that reason comes, Allgaier is ready.
And Suárez won’t need anyone to tell him where he needs to go.
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