Two in a Row!

On this last stop of NASCAR's west coast swing, Daniel Suárez did not have double duty responsibilities, leaving him completely focused on the Cup race.  The team's intent was to build on last weekend's successes.  But when the car unloaded and drove out onto the racetrack for the first two practice sessions, he ended both in 28th place.  Qualifying was a bit more promising, as he advanced through all three rounds.  His times landed him 14th, 7th, and finally 10th.  And then he ended the third and final practice session in 11th place, showing an overall improvement in his car as they prepared for the start of the Cup race.

And that promise carried through the beginning of the race.  Within three laps, he was up to 6th place.  Unfortunately he would not find himself that close to the front of the race for a very long time.  About 100 laps later, he was in 19th place and one lap down, where he stayed for most of the rest of the race.

It wasn't until 15 laps before the scheduled end of the race that he found some luck.  Once his situation started to improve, the good things just snowballed.  When a caution came out on lap 184, he got the lucky dog free pass to get back onto the lead lap.  With 8 laps to go, he restarted in 21st place.

Then the cautions started coming fast and furious, and he and his pit crew clawed themselves forward a little bit more each time.  Another caution, another 2 positions.  One more caution, 3 more spots.  When the race restarted for the final time, Daniel was in 16th place.  And somehow, in only 2 laps, he pulled himself up 9 more spots to finish in 7th place.  Again!  The same finish as last week!  Two top tens in a row!

He was once again the highest finishing rookie.  In this race, he earned another 30 points, bringing his total up to 102.  That places him 19th in the drivers' standings, up 2 positions from last week.  He is 14 points behind Erik Jones and 15 points ahead of Ty Dillon.

¡Buen trabajo, Daniel!  ¡A seguir terminando en los primeros 10 lugares!

Heat in the Desert

After slow but steady improvement, it was encouraging to see Phoenix as the next track up.  Daniel has had success at this track, notching a win here in NASCAR's Mexico series.  Daniel talked about how much he loves this track in this article about his rise in the sport:

Mexico's Daniel Suárez is NASCAR's Rising Star

For the second weekend in a row, Daniel did double duty, juggling his responsibilities between the Xfinity and Cup garages.  The Xfinity side of the weekend started out nicely.  He had the 7th, 4th, and 8th fastest times in practice.  Things hit a snag, though, when the 18 car did not make it through inspection in time to put down a lap during the first round of qualifying.  As a result, they started the race from the 34th spot.

Within the first five laps, he had made up 11 spots.  But the dangers of running that deep in the field bit him sooner rather than later.  On lap 7, as a result of three-wide racing, the right rear of his car to make contact with the outside wall.  The damage cut down his right rear tire, sending him hard into the outside wall.  His day was over on lap 11 with a 39th place finish.

Things were not going a lot better on the Cup side of the weekend.  He was 26th fastest in the first practice, then 27th in the first round of qualifying.  As a result he did not advance to the second round, instead locking in that position as his starting spot for the race.  In the second practice session, he was the 18th fastest in single-lap runs plus 15th in ten-lap averages, showing some signs of improvement.

But then in the third and final practice session, he spun out.  Thankfully he kept his car off the wall, but his right front tire went down, sending up a shower of sparks from his splitter making contact with the pavement.  He ended the session in 19th, based on his times from before the spin, 16th in ten-lap averages.

Thankfully the Cup race started out better than the Xfinity race.  Through much of the race, he battled a tight racecar.  Most pitstops called for 4 tires, fuel, and an assortment of adjustments to improve its handling.  He spent the first 150 laps running in the 20s.

But then things started to show signs of improvement.  He cracked into the top 20, never again sliding further back than 19th.  And with another 50 laps under his belt, he nosed his way into the top 15.

On the last caution of the day, with the field looking at an overtime finish, his crew chief, Dave Rogers, called for a two-tire stop.  He restarted 12th, and two laps later when the checkered flag flew, he brought his ARRIS Camry home in 7th place for his first-ever top ten finish in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series!  Dave Rogers exclaimed, You are supposed to be here, Daniel!"   That was the best finish among the rookies.

He earned 30 points in this race, bringing his total up to 72.  That positions him 21st in the drivers' standing, 7 spots better than last week.  Compared to the other main rookie contenders, he sits 10 points behind Erik Jones and 4 points ahead of Ty Dillon.

The weekend ended on a positive sign for Daniel and his entire 19 crew.  Here's looking forward to more top tens (and better!) to come!

Gambling in Vegas

Daniel Suarez had a busy weekend in Las Vegas.  The 19 team gambled that running in the Xfinity race in addition to the Cup race would pay dividends in experience.  (See what I did there?  Gambling in Vegas?)  It paid off for Suarez fans, too, with a double opportunity to watch him behind the wheel.

His Xfinity car was a rocketship in practice, posting the 2nd and 1st fastest times.  In qualifying, the Interstate Camry advanced through all three rounds, eventually earning the 3rd starting spot in the race.  During the race, he fought a loose-handling car.  During the second race segment he fell back into the teens,  recovering to finish that segment in 9th place.  But during the first and third segment, he ran solidly in the top ten, finishing the first segment in 6th place and ending the race in 3rd.

It reminded me of his solid performances last year, and made me wish that he had the opportunity to defend his championship, continue to gain experience, and have the chance to run a handful of Cup races in preparation for his future.  I think he would have given him an easier transition into the Cup series.

Over in the Cup garage, his practice finishes showed a marked improvement:  15th to 13th to 9th.  Just like Xfinity qualifying, he made it through all three rounds, landing the 9th spot on the grid.  His team selected the 38th pit stall, right behind Danica Patrick and just ahead of an empty stall, giving Daniel an easy drive in to his pit.

Daniel's first Cup race at Las Vegas proved to be another learning experience.  He quickly fell back into the 20s, where he ran for most of the race.  He would occasionally fall a lap down, but each time he would find his way back onto the lead lap.  While he did occasionally poke his nose into the upper teens, he ultimately finished the three race segments in 25th, 21st, and 20th.  For the first time in NASCAR's premiere series, he finished on the lead lap and earned a top 20 finish.

He earned 17 championship points, bringing his season total up to 42 points.  He moved up 3 spots to 28th in the drivers' standings, now sitting 90 points behind the leader.  A quick comparison shows that the three main contenders for rookie honors are within 7 points of each other.  Erik Jones is currently leading the way with 49 points, and Ty Dillon is close behind with 47.  In spite of his struggles thus far, he is keeping the other young guns in his sights.  And last year in the Xfinity series, he showed steady improvement throughout the season to eventually grab the trophy.  I am looking forward to a comparable upswing this year, as well.

Steep Learning Curve

This weekend NASCAR turned away from the hype of Daytona to the reality of the rest of the season when they headed to Atlanta.  As a whole, the drivers love the slippery, tire-eating surface of the Atlanta track because they can run high, low, or just about anyplace in between.  The many options are precisely what makes this track so challenging.

Atlanta was expected to provide a steep learning curve for the rookie, Daniel Suarez.  But who did we see there in the 19 garage?  None other than Carl Edwards himself. He came to Atlanta to share his knowledge of the track.  Carl had found great success at this track, beating Jimmie Johnson to the finish line when he was just a rookie, so his input could prove to be invaluable.  And because Carl did not have his own car to deal with, he could put his complete attention on Daniel.  To his credit, Daniel seemed thrilled with the opportunity to learn all he could from Carl.  And it was fun for his fans to get a chance to see him relaxed and smiling.

Atlanta did prove to be a challenge for Daniel.  He finished the practice sessions in 16th and 21st.  In the first round of qualifying, he was 12th fastest and easily advanced to the second round.  But in the second round he was only 21st fastest and failed to advance to the third and final round, so he started the race in 21st.

Once the race got underway, it ran caution-free for quite some time.  Daniel struggled, falling back into the 30s 3 laps down.  It was well into the third segment of the race before he found his foothold and began running lap times equivalent to the cars in the top ten.  But the limited number of cautions prevented him from getting back onto the lead lap.  When the day ended, he was in 21st place, right where he started, 2 laps down.  He earned 16 championship points, bringing his season total up to 25 points.  He sits in 31st place, 65 points behind the leader.

I come at this from an interesting perspective.  Being accustomed to Carl Edwards' experience and success, his fans came to expect qualifying spots and race finishes in the top ten or better.  It is not fair to expect that of Daniel as he first dips his toes into the Cup series.  So now I am going to have to try to come to understand what is reasonable.  Should I cheer for a top 20?  Top 15?  I guess I am a bit of a rookie myself!  What do other Daniel Suarez fans think is reasonable at this stage of his career?