Making news today was Trackhouse Racing as Heavy.com confirmed the NASCAR team has released two of its key Competition Department members.
Tony Lunders, Chief Operation Officer, and Gary Putnam, Director of Shop Floor Operations, have been released. Both have been longtime members of the NASCAR industry for several teams.
Trackhouse Already Announced Changes for 2026
Last month, Trackhouse announced they were moving on from driver Daniel Suarez at season’s end. Team Co-owner Justin Marks shared reasons why after the Chicago Street, won by his driver Shane van Gisbergen.
“When we mapped out our three-year and our five-year plan and the sponsorships and everything that we’re trying to accomplish over the next five years of the company, we just got to a point where we felt like that relationship had borne a lot of fruit for us,” Marks said. “But it, was time to move on.”
This is Suarez’s fifth year with the team. He has two victories in 305 NCS starts with the first taking place at Sonoma in 2022, and the second was last year in Atlanta. The 33-year-old native of Monterrey, Mexico has made the Playoffs twice, doing so with the two aforementioned wins.
When the change was announced, Suarez and Marks both said it was amicable.
“I have known about this for a while,” Suarez said on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. “I’m actually a little bit relieved that this is out and people know about it, and we can talk about it, and we can move forward with future plans and continue to work. I’m excited for whatever comes next.”
He is currently 29th in points and would need a win at Daytona this Saturday to break into the Playoffs. No replacement for Suarez has been officially named. But, with Xfinity Series championship contender Connor Zilisch already under contract with the team, look for him to take over the No. 99 ride.
Trackhouse Looking to be a Continuous Contender
Speaking of Daytona and the Playoffs, Trackhouse has two of its drivers locked in for the post-season championship battle. Ross Chastain of the No. 1 Chevrolet team, and van Gisbergen of the No. 88 team.
Chastain made it in by winning the prestigious 600-mile race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May. It was his sixth-career victory and fourth straight year he has won a race to make the Playoffs with Trackhouse.
His teammate of van Gisbergen set the NCS garage on its ear by winning four races in his first full-time season, all at road courses, this year. The native of Auckland, New Zealand will make his first Playoff appearance starting at the tricky Darlington Raceway, commonly referred to as the Lady in Black.
Formed in 2020 by Marks, Trackhouse solidified themselves as a full-time team when he bought the NASCAR portion of Chip Ganassi Racing during the 2021 season. This gave the team a shop and ready-to-race inventory. Rolling into 2022 with two charters and Chastain and Suarez as it’s drivers, Trackhouse started winning.
They continued that each season adding another charter last year for van Gisbergen to bring him on full time.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post NASCAR News: Trackhouse Racing Releases Competition Dept. Members appeared first on Heavy Sports.