LONG POND, Pa. – After finishes of 11th or worse in the last five Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races, Daniel Suarez rebounded from an early race speeding penalty to earn his fifth top-10 finish of the season in Sunday afternoon’s Pocono 400 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway.
Suarez in his No. 41 Haas Automation Demo Days Ford Mustang qualified ninth on Saturday and kept his top-10 pace throughout the race despite being penalized on Lap 51 for speeding.
Maneuvering from the back, Suarez used a well-balanced race car and strategy from crew chief Billy Scott to finish eighth – putting his Stewart-Haas Racing back in the top-10 since Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in April.
“We had a little bit more speed than an eighth-place car, but we struggled through the race at one point in traffic,” said Suarez. “We got the balance back by the end, but it wasn’t easy. I feel like a top-10 is what we deserve today, and we have to work on it.”
Restarts proved to be the prime opportunity to pass on Sunday, but for Suarez, it was his achilles heel. Still, Suarez had the speed in his Ford Mustang to make passes.
“I felt like the restarts were a struggle for me today. I just couldn’t go. I am not sure if we had too much shocks or something, but I was struggling a lot. At least in corner one. Everything else was fine but I was struggling quite a bit. My teammates did a good job.
“My team did a good job. It was a top-10 and that is what we deserve for the speed we had, and we will have to keep working to get better.”
Heading to Michigan International Speedway, Suarez maintains 13th in the Cup championship standings, 26 points ahead of the cutoff mark currently occupied by Kyle Larson. The Monterrey, Mexico native has a best Cup finish of 11th in four Cup starts at the 2.0-mile coming last August after starting last.
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