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DANIEL SUÁREZ – 2019 Daytona II Race Report

Event: Coke Zero Sugar 400 (Round 18 of 36)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval)
Format: 160 laps, broken into three stages (50 laps/50 laps/60 laps)
Note: Race stopped 33 laps short of its scheduled 160-lap distance due to rain.
Start/Finish: 15th/40th (Accident, completed 83 of 160 laps)
Point Standing: 17th with 440 points, 260 out of first

Race Winner: Justin Haley of Spire Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Austin Dillon of Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-50):

● Daniel Suárez started Stage 1 from the 15th position and ended the stage sixth to earn five stage points.
● Suárez maneuvered his Haas Automation Ford into the top-10 by lap 20.
● The 27-year-old reported his Mustang was tight and needed to be freed up to run on the bottom. Crew chief Billy Scott made the call for Suárez to make a green-flag pit stop for fuel and a wedge adjustment on lap 36 as he ran in the fourth position.
● Suárez completed the first stage in sixth and reported again that the No. 41 was tight.
● During the Stage 1 break Suárez pitted for fuel, four tires and adjustments.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 51-100):

● The No. 41 driver started Stage 2 in the seventh position and was running 13th when the caution came out on lap 58.
● Suárez brought his Haas Automation Mustang down pit road to top off with fuel and make a wedge adjustment. He restarted in the ninth position.
● During the next caution, the No. 41 machine stayed out on the track in the 17th position.
● Suárez was caught up in an accident on lap 83 that started while the field was running three-wide.
● Suárez brought the Haas Automation Ford down to pit road for tires and repairs. However, due to damage sustained from the accident, the No. 41 became the first car out of the race, finishing in the 40th position.

Notes:

● Justin Haley won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 to score his first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory.
● There were six caution periods for a total of 25 laps.
● Only 18 of the 40 drivers in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 finished on the lead lap.
● Joey Logano remains the championship leader after Daytona with an 18-point advantage over second-place Kyle Busch.

Daniel Suárez, Driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“I don’t really know what happened, I just know a few cars wrecked ahead of me. I was trying to slow down and I bumped the 22 and someone bumped me from behind. We were starting to get it back straight and somebody spun me out. My car was actually fine. I thought we were going to continue, but unfortunately we had a part break, and it’s something we can’t fix.”

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Kentucky 400 on Saturday, July 13 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta. The race starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.