An up-and-down day ended on the up side for Stewart-Haas Racing driver Daniel Suarez.
After starting ninth in Monday’s Firekeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Suarez fell back in the early going as he fought the handling on his no. 41 Ford. After the second stage, however, Suarez’s car came to life, and by the time the race went to overtime, he had driven up to the sixth position.
Taking advantage of a strong run in the outside lane, Suarez surged forward after the final restart and gained the fourth spot in the two-lap dash to the finish. The top-five result was Suarez’s second of the season and kept him 13th in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings, solidly in contention for a Playoff spot.
“The car was pretty strong the entire weekend and then again today,” Suarez said. “We just struggled for whatever reasons on the long runs in the first half of the race.
“We were able to make some adjustments and come back, and I’m proud of my guys. We still have some work to do, but we are slowly heading into the right direction.”
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.