Daniel Suárez began the AAA Texas 500 looking to capitalize on a fast Walmart Family Mobile Mustang—qualifying seventh the day before.  The No. 41 driver remained in the top-five and stayed out on the track during the first two cautions, on laps 10 and 15.  Suárez was in the second position by lap 20 and remained in the top-five until the third caution on lap 44.  Unfortunately, as the Walmart Family Mobile driver was trying to leave his pit box during the third caution, he had to slow due to a competitor trying to enter the pit stall in front of him.  The Mexico native restarted 17th. Suárez received a pit road speeding penalty during the lap-73 stop and was forced to restart at the rear of the field on lap 77.  The final caution of the stage meant a one-lap shootout to end Stage 1, which the Ford driver finished in 15th.

Suárez started Stage 2 in sixth and looked to gain better track positioning.  By lap 120 Suárez was in the third position.  On lap 146 the 27-year-old made a scheduled green-flag pit stop for fuel, four tires and adjustments to help with his racecar’s tight condition.  The remainder of the stage ran under green, and Suárez ended it in eighth.  The team pitted during the stage break for four seconds of fuel and an adjustment.

Suárez started second and took the lead on lap 179 and held the top spot through the lap-186 caution.  Caution was displayed again on lap 191, and the Walmart Family Mobile driver stayed out to maintain the lead.  Although SHR teammate Aric Almirola took the lead from Suárez on lap 201, he held in the top-three until he made a scheduled green-flag pit stop on lap 241.  The caution was displayed as Suárez was headed down pit lane, and when he returned to the track, he was able to earn the second spot after pit stops cycled through under caution.  Suárez restarted second on lap 248 and maintained a top-five position until the conclusion of the race, ultimately finishing in third.

“Tonight was a very solid night, and I am very happy with the performance and speed that we brought from the shop. Everyone back at the shop did a great job. We knew we would be fast here. We had a solid performance here last time. We did a good job. We had good execution and a good clean day. I am very happy for Stewart-Haas Racing, and the No. 41 Ford Mustang was pretty sporty. I am very happy for Kevin (Harvick) getting his ticket for Homestead.”

Date: Nov. 3, 2019
Event: AAA Texas 500
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth (1.5-mile oval)
Format: 334 laps, broken into three stages (85 laps/85 laps/164 laps)
Start/Finish: 7th/3rd (Running, completed 334 of 334 laps)
Point Standing: 17th with 801 points

Next Up:
The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Bluegreen Vacations 500k on Sunday, Nov. 10 at ISM Raceway near Phoenix. It is the penultimate race of the 10-race playoffs and the final race in the Round of 8. The event starts at 2:30 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.