Daniel Suárez’s No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro will sport a paint scheme highlighting Pitbull’s upcoming new album titled “Trackhouse” along with his SLAM! Charter Schools at Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.
The paint scheme will be part of a partnership among Suarez’s Trackhouse Racing team, Ramirez & Co., and IA Capital Group, which will make a sizable donation to the SLAM! schools.
The money will establish a scholarship fund for graduating seniors and a financial literacy program at the SLAM! schools, as well as a grant program to encourage continuing education for the SLAM! staff.
Suárez raced a similar paint scheme last year to a ninth-place finish in the New Hampshire race.
SLAM! is a non-profit educational organization operating public charter schools nationwide. GRAMMY®-winning international superstar, entrepreneur and education advocate Armando Christian Pérez (Pitbull), opened the first SLAM! school in Miami in 2012. The SLAM! network has since expanded to 14 tuition-free charter schools in Florida, Nevada, Georgia, Texas and Arizona.
SLAM! schools expose students to careers in sports medicine, media production, marketing, and the arts. SLAM creates a national platform for students to gain industry experience while developing on-the-job skills. Students can earn college credit through robust dual enrollment and Advanced Placement programs. SLAM! is recognized as a “System of Distinction” by Cognia, a global school improvement and accreditation organization. SLAM! is proud to be 1 of 30 systems in over 90 countries that received this award for its service to learners. For more information on SLAM!, visit slamfoundation.org.
Pitbull has been a team partner at Trackhouse Racing since 2021 and visited the shop last year to celebrate with Suárez whose 2022 victory at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway etched himself in the history books as the first Mexican driver to win a Cup race. Pitbull will release his 12th internationally distributed album under the title “Trackhouse” on Sept. 15.
He was intimately involved with the album cover artwork created by Trackhouse which includes the familiar Trackhouse blue, a cityscape of his hometown of Miami, the historic landmark Freedom Tower overlaid in a form of street art as a reminder of his rise from the streets of Miami.
Suárez said he is honored to drive the No. 99 with the SLAM! and album design logos as well as join in a scholarship program.
“I’m glad myself and our race team along with all of our partners are doing something to give back,” said Suárez. “Trackhouse Racing created the program and then gave Ramirez & Co. and IA Capital Group the opportunity to step up and make it a reality and they did! It worked so well last year that everyone wanted to do it again this weekend.”
SLAM! schools expose students to careers in sports medicine, media production, marketing and the arts. SLAM! creates a national platform for students to gain industry experience while developing on-the-job skills. Students can earn college credits through robust dual enrollment and Advanced Placement programs. For more information on SLAM! charter schools, visit slamfoundation.org.
Samuel A. Ramirez & Company, Inc. is the oldest and largest Hispanic-owned investment bank in the U.S., founded in 1971 by Samuel A. Ramirez Sr., a municipal finance pioneer. Celebrating 52 years in business, the company is a nationwide, full-service investment bank, brokerage and advisory firm serving the needs of individual investors, institutional investors, corporations and government agencies.
“At Ramirez, we are committed to being industry leaders in the inclusion of minorities in the financial services industry and are proud to do our part to increase accessibility to financial literacy in all communities.” said Sam Ramirez Jr., Senior Managing Director, Ramirez & Co.
“Our core values of integrity, experience, teamwork and performance guide our firm on a daily basis and we are excited to continue our partnership with Trackhouse and Daniel Suárez, both of which exemplify such values. Daniel is an inspiration and a role model to the Hispanic community and across his fan base.”
Consistent with its extensive philanthropic and mentoring activities, Ramirez is working closely with the SLAM! Foundation to develop and implement financial literacy programming and mentorship opportunities to help drive the professional success of the SLAM! students.
IA Capital Group is a leading venture capital firm focusing on financial technology with strategic corporate investors from the insurance and financial services sector, as well as clean energy solutions through its Energy Capital Ventures arm. A key item of IA Capital’s investments is to use innovative technologies to improve the quality and availability of financial services and insurance and savings products to underserved communities, in particular the Hispanic market.
IA Capital’s investments include FanShield, a Protecht company, which protects NASCAR fans’ ticket purchases should unexpected circumstances prevent them from attending a race. FanShield is also the title sponsor of the FanShield Infield Experience at Phoenix Raceway. In addition, Phoenix-based Protecht will have initiatives in place to support SLAM! Arizona in Tempe.
“From the first time we met Daniel at the start of 2021 we realized that IA Capital and Trackhouse shared the vision of using our business success to give back to the community, and we had similar interests in education and environmental issues,” said Rick Viton, Partner of IA Capital.
“We are excited that a portion of the donation will also be used to support a new partnership between the Slam! Foundation and a local charity organization in New Hampshire, New England Disabled Sports (NEDS), a nationally recognized program providing expert adaptive sports instruction to children and adults living with physical and cognitive disabilities. We are bringing a group to the race Sunday to cheer on Daniel!”
Suárez hopes to give the group something to cheer about at New Hampshire after finishing second at Atlanta Motor Speedway Sunday night in his best finish of the 2023 season.
He will arrive in New Hampshire after tire testing at Texas Motor Speedway on Tuesday and Wednesday then competing in the Governor’s Cup race at Thunder Road Speedbowl in Vermont on Thursday.
The USA Network will televise Sunday’s race in New Hampshire race at 2:30 p.m. EDT.
Suárez is Vermont Bound for Governor’s Cup & SRX Races
Daniel Suárez is going to spend a lot of time in Vermont in the next two weeks.
On Thursday he’ll make his debut at Thunder Road Speedbowl as part of the 44th Vermont Governor’s Cup at the Barre, Vermont track driving a Dale Shaw-prepared Maplewood/Irving Late Model.
Suárez will return to the track on July 20 as part of the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) when it makes its debut at the track in a race televised live by ESPN.
“I am very excited about the Governor’s Cup. I have heard many good things about Thunder Road as well as the event,” said Suárez. “This will be a new experience for me and I am looking forward to it as well as the SRX the following week. I’m going to spend a lot of time in Vermont!”
Daniel Suarez
Are you ready for a busy week of racing?
“Yes, we are testing in Texas on Tuesday and Wednesday then racing in the Governor’s Cup in Vermont on Thursday before going to New Hampshire for racing Saturday and Sunday so its going to be a busy week. I like racing so it’s kind of cool for me. I didn’t grow up late model racing so these races are a new experience for me. I don’t know what to expect but everyone tells me Thunder Road in Vermont is a really cool track. I can’t wait.”
What are your thoughts on working with SLAM!, Pitbull, IA Capital, Ramirez to raise scholarship money in New Hampshire?
“That’s really good stuff. We visited SLAM! in Miami and it was amazing to see the students. They did a news conference with me and just the students. It was like being in the media center at a NASCAR race. This money will go toward giving these kids a chance at doing something they want to do in life and that’s always something I want to be part of and help out. It would be nice if we can get a lot of television time for SLAM! Sunday and pull into victory lane.”
