The Longest Race of the Year

Did you miss me?  I was vacationing out of the country, spending two and a half glorious weeks exploring Japan.  But you don't want to hear about me.  Let's talk about Daniel Suarez's results in the Coca Cola 600.

His practice times were okay, even good, logging the 13th, 4th, and 9th fastest times.  Qualifying, though, was not as good.  While he was 14th in the first round, he was only 20th in the second round, locking in a mid-pack starting position.

As the race got underway, Daniel's #19 Subway Toyota did not show much strength.  And after a pit stop following a caution on lap 19, he fell back all the way to 35th.  But that was the last time he would find himself that far back in the pack.  He methodically started making up positions.  It took about 15 laps to get back into the top 30, another 25 laps after that and he was back inside the top 20.  On lap 100, he finished the first stage in 16th place.

The second stage was interrupted for almost two hours by a brief but heavy storm.  When the race finally resumed on lap 153, Daniel continued to march toward the front.  Another 30 laps and he was in the top 15.  His pit crew gained him a couple of positions during the caution that followed the caution on lap 174.  He restarted 12th, and that is where he was positioned when stage 2 ended on lap 200.

Stage 3 was even better to him.  He lost a spot every once in a while but always managed to get it back, wavering between 10th and 12th.  When the end-of-stage flag waved on lap 300, he piloted his Subway Camry across the start-finish line in 8th place, earning 3 championship points. 

Stage 4 continued his strong performance.  He ranged from a high of 6th to a low of 12th for the first 2/3 of the stage.  But once green flag pit stops and fuel mileage strategy began to affect the race, he found himself positioned in the mid teens.  Through attrition, he managed to pull himself back up to a finishing position of 11th.  Had it not been for the fuel mileage strategies, he most definitely would have had another top ten finish, maybe even a top five spot.

Daniel's strong run earned him 29 points, bringing his total up to 246.  He is currently 19th in the drivers' standings.  He finished 4 positions behind his primary rookie competitor, Erik Jones, losing 10 points to him this weekend.  But he was 25 spots ahead of Ty Dillon, earning 28 points more than him, increasing the buffer between them.

And on the separate rookie standings, here are the current numbers:

• Daniel Suarez -- 131
• Erik Jones -- 121
• Ty Dillon -- 116
• Corey LaJoie -- 98
• Gray Gaulding -- 86

By the way, before my departure I noticed that this column was not getting as many visitors as it used to.  While I enjoy compiling the results of Daniel Suarez's races, it does take quite a bit of time and effort to pull it together.  If it does not meet the needs of his fans, there is no point in posting it each weekend.  So what do you think?  Should this blog continue?  If so, do you have ideas of more ways to get this into the hands of his fans?  Would you share a link to folks who may be interested?  If you do not think this blog is useful, tell me that, too.

And tomorrow, take a moment to remember the individuals in our Armed Forces who have given their lives to make ours better.