Taken Out in Michigan

When Daniel Suarez pulled into Michigan International Speedway, he was returning to the track where won his first race in one of NASCAR's three national series.  Last year he wheeled his Xfinity car around Kyle Busch to drive away and snag his first win, which propelled him into the playoffs and toward his championship.  When his hauler arrived, it dropped off a Cup car that got progressively better throughout the practice sessions, logging times that ranked 20th, 14th, and 9th.  Qualifying was just okay, with a 19th in the first round and a 16th in the second round.  That was not enough to move him into the third and final round, so he ended up with a 16th place starting position for Sunday's race.

During the initial laps of the race, Daniel's car was free in the corners with chattering front tires.  He ran in the mid teens throughout stage 1, crossing the start/finish line in 14th on lap 60.

Instead of pitting, Scott Graves left the 19 car out on the track during the stage-break caution, so Daniel restarted stage 2 in 1st place.  He fell back to 2nd on the first green-flag lap but maintained that position for over 20 laps.  Then, on lap 89 green-flag pit stops began.  Two laps later the ARRIS Surfboard Toyota pitted for four tires, fuel, and a chassis adjustment.  Once green flag pit stops cycled through on lap 113, he found himself back in 2nd place.  He fell back a few spots during the final laps of stage 2, claiming a 5th place position and the extra points that go with it.

During this stage break caution, Scott Graves did bring Daniel down pit road to the attention of his over-the-wall crew.  It was a quick stop, changing only 2 tires, adding fuel, and making a slight adjustment.  When stage 3 got underway, Daniel restarted in 12th place.  He was struggling with his car and fell back 3 spots within 4 laps.

And then Kasey Kahne cut in front of Daniel, clipping the left front corner of the 19 car.  Daniel ended up out of control, hurtling toward the inside fence.  He hit the wall, bounced off, and hit it a second time.  His day was over.  I can't say that I am surprised that Kasey is out of his ride for next year. 

Daniel ended the day in 37th place, earning a mere 7 points, and bringing his season total up to 515.  He dropped to 17th place in the drivers' standings.  He finished 34 spots behind Erik Jones, earning 40 fewer points, now positioned 9 points behind him.  And he finished 16 positions behind Ty Dillon, earning 9 fewer points, reducing Daniel's lead to 121 points.

This is what the separate rookie standings look like now:

• Daniel Suarez --224
• Erik Jones --217
• Ty Dillon -- 174
• Corey LaJoie -- 147
• Gray Gaulding -- 133