Richmond was another double duty (and double experience) weekend for Daniel Suarez. In the two Xfinity practices, his #18 Juniper Toyota posted the 16th and 19th fastest times. Qualifying showed progress, though, as his spots in the three rounds were 14th, 5th, and 3rd.
And once the race got started, he wheeled his car up to 2nd on the first lap. But that only lasted for a few laps. He struggled with the handling of a tight car, falling back to 5th by lap 35 and 8th by lap 46. He did regain one position before the end of stage 1, claiming the 7th spot. In stage 2, he struggled instead with a loose racecar, running as far back as 10th and as far forward as 7th. He ended the stage in 7th. Stage 3 was more of the same, running between 7th and 9th. Until he got hit from behind, sliding into the outside wall and out of the race. He finished in 21st place.
Daniel was not tearing up practice sessions in Cup, either. He finished the three practice sessions in 18th, 28th, and 12th. His ten-lap averages ranged between 19th and 21st. Qualifying started with a 23rd fastest time in the first round, but the second and third rounds ended with a more promising 11th place each time. That good starting spot also allowed the team to get one of the better spots on pit road, selecting pit stall 16, just ahead of a break, allowing for an easy drive in.
As the race prepared to get underway, Daniel actually moved up because one of the drivers ahead of him had to fall to the back. So as the green flag dropped for the first time, he crossed the start/finish line in 9th place. And within 2 laps, he was up to 8th. But after a quick caution the field restarted on lap 18, and he began to slide back. By lap 25 he was in 15th place. and by lap 50 he was in 32nd. As he continued to struggle with the handling of his car, he started getting caught and lapped by the leaders. He finished stage 1 in 32nd place 1 lap down and stage 2 in 30th place 2 laps down. He would eventually go a total of 3 laps down.
But the increasing number of cautions during the second half of the race gave his team the opportunity to alternate between pitting to adjust the car and staying out to gain back laps. And then on a caution on lap 366 he got the lucky dog, which permitted him to get back onto the lead lap AND pit for tires, fuel, and adjustments. When the race resumed he was in 28th but at the tail end of the field. He did advance 3 spots in 11 laps before the caution flag flew again. His crew gave him four fresh tires and fuel and sent him out to line up in 22nd place with the lead lap cars.
When the race resumed with only 22 laps remaining, Daniel started to do what we saw him do in Phoenix and Fontana. After only 7 laps he was inside the top 20. Another 12 laps, and he poked the nose of his ARRIS Camry into the top 15. When the checkered flag flew, he crossed the start/finish line in 12th, only one spot back from where he first lined up at the start of the race.
His Richmond run earned him 25 points, bringing his total up to 169. He remains 22nd in the drivers' standings. He was the best finishing rookie, cutting in half his deficit to Erik Jones, who is now only 24 points ahead of Daniel. And he moved away from Ty Dillon, positioning himself 12 points ahead of him.
The race weekend in Bristol, Tennessee provided Daniel Suarez with another double duty opportunity. On the Xfinity side of the garage, the rainy spring weather limited them to only one practice session, during which Daniel posted the 16th fastest time. When qualifying rolled around, he was Mr. Consistent: 10th in the first round, 10th in the second round, and 10th in the first round.
Once the race got underway, he set sail for the front of the field. He was inside the top 3 within the first 25 laps. As a result of a tight car, he fell back a few spots, finishing stage 1 in 5th place. He restarted in 4th and 25 laps later he was in 2nd.
About halfway through the race that rainy spring weather made another appearance, putting the cars on a red flag hold that lasted for more than an hour and a half. Once the weather cleared and the cars pitted, Daniel restarted in 8th place. Stage 2 ended a few laps later with the Juniper Camry in 4th place.
Then things really got interesting. He stayed out during the caution at the end of stage 2, restarting in 2nd. Within ten laps he was leading the race, a position he held for approximately the next 30 laps. But the car got tight and he fell back, but never further back than 4th place. He did get back up as high as 2nd, but ended up finishing the race in the 3rd spot. Although he did not claim the winner's trophy, he was competitive all day, especially during the third and final stage of the race.
Over on the Cup side of the track, his #19 team unloaded a car that was only 27th fastest in the first practice session, 19th in 10-lap averages. Their adjustments helped the car run the 16th fastest time in the second session. By the time the third and final practice session rolled around, Daniel was 2nd fastest in single laps, 6th in 10-lap averages, and 6th in 15-lap averages.
Rain washed out both qualifying and the Sunday race. When the cars finally rolled onto the track on Monday afternoon, the starting grid was set by owners' points, positioning Daniel and his ARRIS Toyota in 23rd. During the 125 laps of the first stage, he ran as high as 21st and as low as 26th, ending the stage in 21st place. Stage 2 showed some improvement, running between 17th and 22nd and concluding the stage in 17th place.
As stage 3 began, he advanced a few more spots, climbing as high as 15th. But then the car started to overheat from damage to the car's nose received 50 laps earlier. It was necessary to bring the car down pit road to change tires, add fuel, remove tape from the grill, and make additional repairs to the nose of the car. All of that work during a green flag pit stop resulted in the orange ARRIS Toyota going four laps down. When he got back on the track he was in 29th place.
There were several cautions during the remaining 200 laps, giving Scott Graves the opportunity to have Daniel stay out and take the wave around to get a lap back on two separate occasions. Advancing as much as possible he managed to climb back into the top 20 before the end of the race, finishing the day in 18th place 2 laps down.
In the Bristol Cup race he earned 19 points, bringing his season's total up to 144. He is now 22nd in the drivers' standings, 1 position better than last week. He did lose ground to the other primary contenders in the rookie competition. He lost another 14 points to Erik Jones, who is now 48 points ahead of him. And Ty Dillon gained 3 points on Daniel, tying him in the drivers' standings.
And on the separate rookie standings, here are the current numbers:
- Daniel Suarez -- 85
- Erik Jones -- 83
- Ty Dillon -- 78
- Corey LaJoie -- 66
- Gray Gaulding -- 52
Relieved to put last weekend in the rearview mirror, both figuratively and literally, Daniel Suarez rolled into Texas Motor Speedway with plans to run in the Xfinity race in addition to his regular Cup responsibilities. The 18 team grabbed the 5th fastest and 13th fastest times in the two practice sessions. When qualifying rolled around, he shot up near the top of the leaderboard during the first round with a 3rd place. But during the second round he could do no better than 15th, unable to move on to the third round.
When the race got started, he steadily moved up from his 15th place starting spot. By lap 11 he was inside the top ten, and at the end of stage 1 he was in 6th. After a speedy pit stop, he lined up 3rd on the restart. One lap later he was in the lead. But two laps after that he got loose and spun out. Fortunately he kept the car off the wall and away from the other cars, but after pitting under caution he restarted back in 25th.
Almost immediately he was back inside the top 20 and less than 20 laps later he was inside the top 15. His car did not handle well enough for him to continue making significant gains, so he finished the race in 12th place. But the time spent on the Texas track was invaluable experience.
All of the Cup drivers found the new track surface to be a challenge, and Daniel was no exception. In the three practice sessions, he finished with the 12th, 23rd, and 6th fastest times. In qualifying he was 10th in the first round, easily moving on. But in the second round he could do no better than 20th, so he did not advance to the third round.
Once the race got underway he made minor contact with the car ahead of him, sending him to the attention of the 19 crew on pit road. They massaged the nose of his car and got him back out on the track without losing a lap but in 39th place. It only took him about 10 laps to get back inside the top 30.
Following the competition caution on lap 30 he restarted in 19th place. Over the next 55 laps he ranged from a high of 17th and a low of 25th, which is where he finished stage 1. The pit stop at the end of the stage allowed his crew to perform a few more repairs to the nose of his car in addition to changing tires, adding fuel, and making a few adjustments.
He restarted in 26th and spent this stage ranging from a high of 22nd and a low of 29th. He finished stage 2 in 22nd place. But this time Scott Graves decided not to call him down pit road for service, so he restarted in 14th. The decision proved to be fortuitous, as Daniel was able to maintain a spot in the top 20 for the remainder of the race.
Daniel made a brief appearance in the top 10 near the beginning of stage 3, but fell back into the teens with 25 laps. Over the remaining laps, he ranged from a high of 10th to a low of 20th. When the checkered flag flew he brought his Stanley Toyota home in 19th place, a solid top 20 performance for a rookie driver on a new track surface.
In this race he earned 18 points, giving him a total of 125. That places him in 23rd on the drivers' standings, 2 positions further back than he was last weekend. Because he finished ahead of Erik Jones he crept 3 points closer to him, but Erik still has a 33 point lead over Daniel.
And on the separate rookie standings, here are the current numbers:
- Daniel Suarez --76
- Erik Jones --73
- Ty Dillon --67
- Corey LaJoie --58
- Gray Gaulding --45
By the way, Daniel inspired the title of this week's blog when he "sang" lines from Deep in the Heart of Texas. If you did not catch his musical performance, I think it is only fair to warn you that it is a good thing that he and his colleagues are top notch racecar drivers, because none of them appear to have any hope of forging a singing career. But that is exactly what makes this so enjoyable. Here is the link:
