Daniel Suárez on Monday, July 13, 2015 Photo – Getty Images

Daniel Suárez is our guest on Fan4Racing Fan2Fan NASCAR & Race Talk on Monday, July 13, 2015. Call 714-202-9918 or tweet @Fan4RacingSite @Sal_Sigala Jr or @ZRoethlisberger with any questions or comments during the LIVE broadcast. 

Rookie Daniel Suárez Scores Back-to-Back Fourth-Place Finishes at Kentucky Speedway

After a top-five finish in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ UNOH 225 on Friday night, Daniel Suárez returned to Kentucky Speedway on Saturday to compete in the Kentucky 300 with the NASCAR XFINITY Series. His fourth-place finish in the Camping World Truck Series was his fourth series’ top-five of the year and Suárez intended to bring that momentum to his next race of the weekend.

Rain washed out the XFINITY Series Friday qualifying session, setting the field based on speed from Thursday’s practice session. Suárez would start the Kentucky 300 in the tenth position based on his practice speed.

The 23-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing rookie wasted no time working his way up the field, moving up two spots to eighth almost as soon as the green flag flew to begin the event. A spin on lap three brought out the first caution of the evening, giving Suárez an opportunity to tell crew chief Eric Phillips that although he was happy with his No. 18 ARRIS Toyota Camry, he felt that it was a bit loose. Shortly after the next restart, the Monterrey, Mexico, driver was hard at work improving his position. Guided by veteran spotter Chris Osborne, Suárez worked his way up to the sixth position, holding the spot until the competition caution on lap 25.

After telling his crew chief the car was good, but still a bit loose, Suárez brought his car down pit road for two tires and some fuel. The No. 18 team worked quickly and efficiently during the stop, helping their driver pick up two spots from pit road, putting Suárez in the fourth position for the lap 30 restart.

Over the next 40 green-flag laps, Suárez found himself in an intense battle for position, shuffling between the fourth and fifth spots on the track. A caution on lap 71 gave the young driver another opportunity to bring his car down pit road, this time for four tires and fuel. Suárez was able to pick up a spot during the pit stop, moving up to the fourth position for the lap 77 restart. Two laps later, came the fourth caution of the event allowing Suárez to radio that his car was loose on entry and exit of the turns.

The Kentucky 300 restarted for the fourth time on lap 84 with Suárez holding down the fourth spot. One lap later he was up to third and by lap 88 he was challenging the race leader for control of the field from the second spot. He would continue to apply pressure over the ensuing laps, remaining in the top-three until Phillips made the call to bring his driver down pit road for a green-flag pit stop on lap 135. Suárez, who remained mostly silent before the stop, informed his team that his car was loose in the turns, more so in turns three and four.  After taking four tires and fuel, he rejoined the field in the sixth spot, moving back up to third by the time green-flag pit stops cycled through.

Phillips and Osborne instructed Suárez to begin saving fuel, as the team was preparing for a possible green-white-checkered run. The NASCAR Next and NASCAR Drive for Diversity program alumnus continued to hold down the third spot on the grid, relying on Osborne to work his way around lapped cars and close the gap on the top-two competitors. As Suárez began to inch closer to the leaders and pull away from the rest of the field, the fifth caution came on lap 162. Phillips chose not to gamble with the fuel window and instead called the No. 18 down pit road for fuel and two right-side tires. Suárez’s team once again showed their talent on pit road, helping the rookie hold the third spot for the restart.

The green flag flew and once again the leaders began to pull away from the pack, jockeying for position among the top-four spots. As the competitors began nearing the last 20 laps of the event, the top cars began to distance themselves, with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular Brad Keselowski challenging Joe Gibbs Racing driver Erik Jones for the lead. Suárez, while keeping his eyes on the top spot, had his hands full tracking down his teammate and Sprint Cup Series standout Kyle Busch, who had pushed Suárez down to the fourth position. As the two worked their way around the rear of the field, the checkered flag inched ever closer, ultimately coming out before Suárez was able to break back into the top-three.

Keselowski edged out Jones in the closing laps of the Kentucky 300 for his first XFINITY Series win of the season and the 33rd of his career. Busch slotted in third with Suárez and Elliott Sadler rounding out the top-five. There were five cautions for 24 laps, slowing the event which saw ten lead changes among six drivers.

For Suárez, the Kentucky 300 marked his second top-five and sixth top-ten finish of the 2015 campaign. It was also his third-consecutive top-ten at a 1.5-mile track, with his last, a seventh-place finish, coming at Chicagoland Speedway on June 21st.

“First of all, I want to thank everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing because they’ve been doing an amazing job with me,” said Suárez post-race.”They don’t give up with me and my sometimes rookie mistakes and my learning process. It’s been good being with them and learning from everyone. I’m very proud as well because I was really fast. We could run all night long in the top-five, which is great. I’m very happy; our No. 18 ARRIS Toyota Camry was very strong. Yesterday we also had a strong run in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, so overall a pretty solid weekend.”

The young driver was also the top-finishing Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate, earning top rookie honors for the race and closing the gap in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings. Suárez also saw his position in the championship point standings improve, moving up two spots to the eighth position with 17 races remaining on the season.

The results of the weekend were not lost on the young rookie, as his confidence continues to build throughout the season.

“We keep learning a lot,” Suárez continued. “Every single weekend I feel like we learn a lot of new things. I think it’s great. I really feel more confident running up front and with these guys. Not just running with them, but learning from all these guys because I really feel like we are learning from the best drivers. We have to keep it up and hopefully one race we can make it happen with a win.”