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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Daniel Suarez, who landed a trip two weeks earlier than the season-opening Daytona 500, won’t return to Gaunt Brothers Racing subsequent season and is looking for a brand new crew for the third time in three years.<\/p>\n
Gaunt Brothers stated Tuesday it was a mutual resolution for the Mexican driver to depart the crew. Suarez will end the yr within the No. 96 Toyota Camry.<\/p>\n
”I am extraordinarily grateful to my whole Toyota household for the whole lot they’ve achieved for me, particularly this yr,” Suarez stated. ”I’ll all the time be grateful to them for having my again.”<\/p>\n
Suarez has struggled with Gaunt Brothers, which is in its first full season of Cup competitors. The crew did not make the Daytona 500 and Suarez i s ranked 31st within the standings.<\/p>\n
He provides his identify to a protracted record of drivers in search of jobs in 2020, which incorporates Bubba Wallace, Erik Jones, Corey LaJoie and Kyle Larson, who has been suspended since April for utilizing a racial slur. There’s been hypothesis Suarez may transfer to Richard Petty Motorsports within the seat Wallace is vacating on the finish of this season.<\/p>\n
”I’ve given 100% of myself to this crew since day one, and I’ll proceed to offer 100% till the final lap at Phoenix,” Suarez stated. ”My purpose has all the time been to win races and championships, and that can by no means change.”<\/p>\n
The 28-year-old from Monterrey, Mexico, has had a tricky run since profitable the 2016 Xfinity Sequence championship driving a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. He was promoted to the Cup Sequence following the sudden retirement of Carl Edwards however acquired simply two seasons within the automotive earlier than he was pushed out when Toyota wanted a seat for Martin Truex Jr.<\/p>\n
Suarez landed at Stewart-Haas Racing after he was dismissed at Gibbs, however he acquired only one season within the automotive earlier than the crew promoted Cole Custer. He discovered in the course of the season finale weekend that he was out of his job at SHR.<\/p>\n
His lengthy relationship with Toyota helped Suarez get the job with Gaunt Brothers, a crew that started within the NASCAR Okay&N Professional Sequence in 2010 and the Canada-based NASCAR Pinty’s Sequence. The crew ran 15 Cup races in 2019 – 14 with NBC analyst Parker Kligerman as the motive force.<\/p>\n
”The complete crew could be very appreciative of the hassle Daniel has put forth. He has helped construct the muse we’d like for subsequent season,” Marty Gaunt stated. ”It is a massive soar to go from a part-time schedule to a full-time schedule, particularly this season as all of us handled the challenges of a world pandemic.”<\/p>\n
Gaunt stated the crew can be on the grid in 2021.<\/p>\n
”We’re laying vital groundwork for improved objectives subsequent yr that, in the end, units us up for fulfillment with the NextGen automotive in 2022,” Gaunt stated. ”We’re taking a methodical, long-term strategy to our future and the subsequent driver of our No. 96 Toyota shall be an integral a part of that growth.”<\/p>\n
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This story has been corrected to indicate that Daniel Suarez misplaced his job at Joe Gibbs Racing to Martin Truex Jr., not Erik Jones.<\/p>\n
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Extra AP NASCAR: https:\/\/apnews.com\/NASCAR<\/p>\n<\/div>\n