FORT WORTH, Tex. – For the second consecutive Chase race Daniel Suarez experienced problems, but made the most of the situation finishing fifth in Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway.
At Kansas Speedway, nearly three weeks ago, Suarez battled an aggressive vibration in the drive line. Ultimately the worries were all for not as the team persevered with a third-place finish in the Kansas Lottery 300.
On Saturday in the Lone Star state, Suarez started his No. 19 ARRIS Toyota Camry fourth in the 200-lap race and while contending for the early race lead – Suarez’s focus around winning turned into just surviving.
Before halfway, Suarez told crew chief Scott Graves that he was losing voltage inside the race car.
Quickly, the Monterrey, Mexico native turned off some key components hoping his primary battery would go the distance.
Without the use of cooling fans and even his air conditioning unit, Suarez continued to stay in the Chase picture and race amongst the top-10.
With 40 laps remaining and his voltage diminishing even more, Suarez switched to his second battery which provided enough juice to earn his 17th top-five or 25th top-10 of 2016.
“I think it was a good day,” said Suarez. “We have had better days and we have had worse days. Today was one of those days, I felt like we learned a lot on this race track, it is something that we thought that there is some stuff we can learn for Homestead. Hopefully we learned some good stuff. We go back home and study everything and hopefully learn something from this.
“We earned another top-five, we had some issues through the race, some technical issues but that was a little worried if we were going to finish the race or not, but luckily we were able to finish the race with a top-five.”
Afterwards, the NASCAR Next alumnus said a faulty alternator caused the battery issues and the tense moments around the Joe Gibbs Racing pit box.
“I was worried because we were a little bit before or after halfway and I knew we had at least 90 more laps to go,” said Suarez. “I know that I had a second battery, but you never know and you want to be able to go.
“We have a lot of time we could work on the tires and brakes and everything, but after that issue I wasn’t able to use anything, even my AC, I wasn’t able to use it. We’re lucky that it was cloudy and fresh, in a hot day it could have been more difficult. We made it.”
The saving grace of the backup battery kept the 24-year-old alive in the inaugural XFINITY Series Chase.
Heading to Phoenix International Raceway next weekend, Suarez sits atop the Chase grid ahead of teammate Erik Jones and other Chasers Elliott Sadler, Justin Allgaier, Darrell Wallace Jr., Ryan Reed, Blake Koch and Brendan Gaughan.
Suarez leaped Sadler for the top stop in the standings and leads for the first time since Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July.
Finishing third at the 1.0-mile track in March gives the former Drive for Diversity member confidence knowing his JGR has been a powerhouse in the dessert. Knowing next Saturday’s race is the final cutoff into the Championship 4, Suarez hopes for much of the same.
“Phoenix is a good race track for us as a company,” said Suarez. “The last race there we finished 1, 2 and 3, so I think we have to go out there, try to put ourselves in a good position and do (exactly) the same thing we’ve been doing the last month and a half trying to take the opportunities when we can to win the race and if not try to finish inside the top-five.”
Likely a favorite to make the Championship 4 at Homestead, Suarez knows if they make it that far, they’ll “put everything we have and everything we’ve learned in the entire year into Homestead.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
