Tenth Top Ten

In New Hampshire, Daniel's car showed good speed in practice.  He was 12th, 6th, and 4th fastest, showing improvement as the weekend went on.  Plus he was 8th and 7th fastest in ten-lap averages, showing good long-run speed.  But in qualifying he was 25th in the first round, so he did not advance and ended up with a starting spot on the inside of the 13th row.

Fortunately for us, a poor starting position combined with a fast car allowed us the pleasure of watching Daniel weave his way through the field.  He was inside the top 20 by lap 4 and the top 15 by lap 23.  When stage 1 ended on lap 75, he was running in the 12th position.

Speeding on pit road during the stage break caution saw him restarting at the tail end of the longest line in 23rd on lap 82.  Stage 2 was once again an opportunity for Daniel to work his way forward.  It took a while for him to advance his position because he first had to work his way through the cars that were one or more laps down.  But once he got back up to the lead lap cars, stage 2 looked a lot like stage 1.  By lap 113 he was back inside the top 20.  And at the end of the stage, he was running 10th.

Stage 2 ended with a multi-car crash that brought out the red flag to get the track cleaned up.  Thankfully Daniel managed to maneuver through the melee without getting caught up in it.  When the race resumed on lap 159, he was running in 15th.  And guess what he did throughout stage 3?  That's right, he once again advanced through the field.  First one position, then another, then another.  It took more than 100 laps before he cracked the top ten, but when he came off pit road following the caution on lap 263, he lined up in 8th.  Although he slid back as far as 11th during the last segment of the race, he did manage to regain the laps he lost before the race came to an end.  He finished in 8th place, his tenth top ten of the season.

He earned 29 points in this race, bringing his total to 624 and maintaining the 20th spot in the drivers' standings.  He finished 2 positions behind Erik Jones and earned 16 fewer points, so he fell to 79 points behind him.  But he finished 14 spots ahead of Ty Dillon, earning 7 more points than him and increasing that gap to 166 points.

Here are the separate rookie standings:

• Erik Jones --253
• Daniel Suarez -- 237
• Ty Dillon -- 181
• Corey LaJoie -- 154
• Gray Gaulding -- 140

Steady in Chicago

Daniel rolled into Chicagoland with double duty on his mind.  In the Xfinity series, he logged the 9th and 3rd fastest times in practice.  Then he grabbed a top five time during each of the three qualifying round (5th, 3rd, and 2nd) and snagging a starting spot on the front row.

Once the race got underway, he struggled with an extremely loose car.  He fell back a few spots, finished the first stage in 5th place.  His pit crew gained him a couple of spots, allowing him to restart in 3rd.  But once again he slipped back, ending stage two in 6th place.  Another stellar pit stop once again gained him a couple of spots, and some bad luck for his competitors saw him restarting in 2nd.  Now with a car too free on the bottom and too tight on the top, he lost a couple of spots but held onto 4th.

But then, about 40 laps after the stage break, Daniel felt a vibration.  He brought his car down pit road for 4 new tires and fuel.  Back on the track he found himself in 18th place one lap down.  But he was still feeling a vibration.  In the meantime, the rest of the field went through a cycle of green-flag pit stops.  Once they were complete, Daniel was running in 5th place.

Almost immediately the caution flag flew again, and this time he lost a few spots on pit road.  When the race went green again, he restarted in 9th.  Over the next dozen or so laps, he pulled forward a few spots, all the way up to 6th.

Another dozen laps, and Daniel was the one who brought out the caution flag.  He spun out but kept the car off the wall.  After pitting for 2 fresh tires, he restarted in 19th one lap down.  But with only 15 laps left in the race, he did not have enough time to get back onto the lead lap.  He was still in 19th one lap down when the race concluded.

Over in the Cup series, Daniel and crew snagged the 2nd fastest time in the first practice session, but that was based on being set up for mock qualifying runs.  In the second and third sessions, he was 17th and 18th fastest.  In qualifying, he was 15th in the first round and 13th in the second.  That was one spot shy of advancing to the third and final round, so he started the race from the 13th spot on the grid.

Once the green flag dropped on Sunday afternoon, Daniel managed to hold a spot in the low teens.  He was in 12th when the green-flag pit stops got started on lap 39.  When they wrapped up on lap 48, he was in 11th.  Ten laps later he cracked the top ten for the first time, then finished stage 1 in 9th place.

He ran in the top ten (9th or 10th) during the first 25 or so laps of stage 2.  After another cycle of green-flag pit stops, he slipped back to 12th.  That is where he was running when stage 2 came to an end.

He restarted stage 3 in 12th.  A quick caution with some nimble driving saw him climb back up into 9th place.  But a loose car had him losing a few spots, back to 12th when it was time for more green-flag pit stops on lap 200.  For the remaining laps of the race, he ran between 11th and 13th.  When the checkered flag flew, he crossed the finish line in 12th place.

This was a good, steady race for Daniel.  He was not up there challenging for the lead, but he was outrunning several of the playoff drivers.  Other than during green-flag pit stops, he was never further back than 13th.  For his first Cup start at this track, that is a more than respectable performance.

This finish netted Daniel 27 points, bringing his total to 595 and holding him in 20th place in the drivers' standings.  He was the best finishing rookie by far, finishing 21 spots ahead of Erik Jones and 16 spots ahead of Ty Dillon.  He earned 23 more points than Erik, trimming the difference to 63 points.  And he earned 18 points more than Ty, increasing that difference to 152 points.

Here are the separate rookie standings:

• Erik Jones --246
• Daniel Suarez -- 233
• Ty Dillon -- 180
• Corey LaJoie -- 153
• Gray Gaulding -- 139

The Conclusion of the Regular Season

This weekend in Richmond, Virginia, was the last chance to win a race and grab a spot in the playoffs.  The ARRIS Camry unloaded with the 17th fastest speed in the first practice session, then the 3rd fastest in the second and final session.  It looked like they found some speed, especially when he logged the 5th fastest time in the first round of qualifying.  But then he was ranked 16th in the second round and failed to advance.

Once the race got underway, he maintained his position in the top 20 for the first 20 laps.  But by the first caution on lap 34, he had slipped back to 22nd.  The pit stop adjustments helped him get back inside the top 20.  He was running in 17th when the caution came out again 50 laps later.  When stage 1 concluded, he was in 18th place.  Stage 2 was more of the same.  He restarted in 25th, got as far forward as 19th, and ultimately finished the stage in 23rd.

Daniel started stage 3 in 18th place.  By the time the next caution flag flew about 50 laps later, he had worked his way up to 13th place, his first peek into the top 15.  As a result of a speedy pit stop from his over the wall crew, he restarted 10th.  He could not hold that position, though, and slipped back little by little.  By the time green-flag pit stops started 60 laps later, he was running in 14th.  It took over 35 laps, but once everyone was done with their green-flag pit stops Daniel found himself running in 6th place.

Over the remaining 45 laps, young Mr. Suarez never fell out of the top ten.  And during the melee that was the final restart, he ended up piloting his #19 Toyota to a 7th place finish, his ninth top ten of the season.  He earned 30 points, bringing his season total up to 568, and maintaining the 17th spot.  Now that the regular season is over, though, the points reset for the playoffs.  Because three drivers behind him in points had previously won races, he falls to 20th in the standings.

He finished 1 spot behind Erik Jones, earning 13 fewer points than him, and falling to 86 points behind him in the drivers' standings.  He finished 15 positions ahead of Ty Dillon, earning 15 more points, and increasing his lead over him to 134 points overall.

Here are the separate rookie standings:

• Erik Jones --245
• Daniel Suarez -- 231
• Ty Dillon -- 178
• Corey LaJoie -- 152
• Gray Gaulding -- 138

Darlington Tamed Daniel

After a weekend off, Daniel Suarez rolled into Darlington for his first Cup experience at the Track Too Tough to Tame.  His car did not show great speed right off the truck, though, with practice speeds that ranked 19th and 10th.  Then, in qualifying, he was 22nd in the first round and just barely advanced to the second round.  He did a bit better with 19th place but not close to what he needed to move on to the third and final round.

Once the race got underway, he spent most of the first stage running near his starting position.  He fell back to 22nd by lap 4.  His stellar pit crew gained him a few spots on pit road during the first caution of the night.  During the second caution he slid through his pit box and had to back up.  As a result he lost a few spots, back to 22nd again.  But then he started picking his way through the field.  By the time stage 1 came to an end, he was running in 16th.

His pit crew got him a couple more spots during the stage break caution, so he restarted in 14th.  His car seemed to be coming to him, as he gained a position or two over the next 7 laps.  And then Darlington bit him.  On lap 124 he blew his right front tire, sending him into the outside wall, doing so much damage to the car that he was unable to continue  He would end his evening with a 38th place finish.

He earned 1 point, bringing his total up to 538 points, still sitting in 17th place in the drivers' standings.  He finished 33 spots behind Erik Jones, earning 36 fewer points, now 73 total points behind him.  And he finished 25 spots behind Ty Dillon, earning 23 fewer points, but is still ahead of him by 119 points.

Here are the separate rookie standings:

• Erik Jones --238
• Daniel Suarez -- 226
• Ty Dillon -- 177
• Corey LaJoie -- 151
• Gray Gaulding -- 137