Rain, Rain, and More Rain

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