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
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