Daniel Suárez can smile about a promising finish at Fontana, California. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
Considering the up and down day for Daniel Suárez at Auto Club Speedway, a fourth place finish should feel like a victory.
Instead, the 30-year-old Monterrey, Mexico native left Fontana, California wondering about the possibility of his highly anticipated maiden NASCAR Cup Series win.
Truth be told, Suárez and his No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet team, with crew chief Travis Mack, can take pride with their stellar WISE Energy 400 performance. Starting 15th, the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion raced with a methodical, calculative approach.
Despite falling as far back as 31st in the early stages of the race, Suárez dropped the hammer in the final 50 laps. Climbing up to ninth, the Drive for Diversity graduate worked his way into the top five with 15 to go.
With seven laps remaining, leader Kyle Larson and the remaining lead lap drivers, including Suárez, pitted for tires and fuel. Needless to say, Suárez’s pit crew delivered with an excellent stop that boosted their driver to the second spot.
Suárez and his No. 99 team elevated their game heading into this season. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
Once the race resumed with four laps left, Larson battled Joey Logano and Suárez for the lead. While Logano tried his best to get past Larson, Suárez showcased his experience by making a veteran pass for the lead, getting around Larson off turn 2.
Suddenly, Suárez looked like the man to beat, just a few laps from scoring his first Cup win. However, Larson parlayed an incredible run off turn 4 to get past Suárez before the start/finish line, pulling away.
Suárez dropped to fourth as Austin Dillon and Erik Jones, his fellow Chevrolet stablemates, passed by him in the closing laps.
Instead of a potential victory, Suárez crossed the stripe with a fourth place result.
It stings but I’m so proud of this team. Thanks for giving me a shot @TeamTrackhouse … Those guys left their hearts out on the racetrack today.
— Daniel Suárez (@Daniel_SuarezG) February 28, 2022
Although Suárez felt some heartache over his close call, he considered the positives during a character defining afternoon.
“We’re going to win a few races very soon here,” Suárez said. “I just can’t thank everyone enough in my team. We had a fast car, but we went through a lot of adversity. We had a few issues. We hit the wall once. We had an issue with a diffuser.”
Those obstacles did little to deter Suárez and his No. 99 team from contending for the win against the defending Cup champion. Similarly, Suárez realized his team played a helping hand, particularly with the final pit stop.
“My pit crew, those guys are legends; it’s unbelievable,” he observed. “It’s the best pit crew I’ve ever had, and it’s a lot of fun to race like that. Freeway Insurance, Chevrolet, everyone that helps Trackhouse Racing out to be able to be here and perform this way.”
Certainly, Suárez has the makings to be a consistent Cup contender on any given race weekend. The sixth year Cup racer can attest to his team’s leaps and bounds, evolving from their 25th place points finish last year that resulted in a top-five and four top-10 finishes.
Suárez knows his time to win isn’t too far around the corner. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
Ultimately, Suárez, who’s two years removed from a season of struggles after losing his Stewart-Haas Racing seat, can smile about a day like Fontana. After all, his performance and finish on Sunday showcased that he and his No. 99 team are not just happy to just be here.
In fact, Suárez expressed the highest levels of confidence that a driver can have for their team.
“I can tell you that I’m going to work very, very hard to go to Victory Lane very, very soon here,” he said.
