Daniel Suárez began the Hollywood Casino 400 in eighth after a strong qualifying run on Saturday.  The Ford driver quickly reached the top-five by lap two.  Suárez then pitted from the second spot on lap 41 for fuel and four tires.  After green-flag pit stops cycled through, the ARRIS driver remained in the second spot until lap 67, when he slipped to third.  The first caution was displayed on lap 76, and Suárez pitted from third for fuel and four tires. He restarted seventh after four cars stayed out.  After a sprint to end Stage 1, Suárez completed it in third.

Suárez started second and took the lead in turn two on the restart in Stage 2.  The ARRIS driver then slipped to second on lap 92.   Suárez remained in the top-five on lap 115, when the second caution was displayed.  He then pitted during the caution for fuel, four tires and adjustments, and restarted fifth.  During the stage break Suárez pitted for fuel, four tires and adjustments to help with his ill-handling Mustang and returned to the track in 16th.

After a tough restart in Stage 3, Suárez dropped back to 20th.  On lap 200 he was back up to 17th.  On lap 213 the Ford driver pitted from 17th for fuel, four tires and adjustments.  After pit stops cycled through, the 27-year-old was 14th on lap 233.  On lap 255 Suárez pitted from 13th for fuel, four tires and adjustments and restarted 13th with nine laps remaining.  On lap 262 he was in the ninth spot when the next caution was displayed. He didn’t pit and restarted ninth for the first attempt at overtime.  The field was coming to the white flag when a multicar accident occurred involving Suárez and relegating him to a 32nd-place finish.

“We had a really good ARRIS Mustang to start the race. We held our position up front, and then I got shuffled back on one of the restarts. We were working on adjusting the car and trying to make up our track position, and towards the end we had made a lot of ground. Unfortunately, we got in an accident getting ready to take the white flag.”

Date: Oct. 20, 2019
Event: Hollywood Casino 400
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Kansas Speedway in Kansas City (1.5-mile oval)
Format: 267 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/80 laps/107 laps)
Note: Race extended 10 laps past its scheduled 267-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Start/Finish: 8th/32nd  (Accident, completed 270 of 277 laps)
Point Standing: 18th with 757 points

Next Up:
The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the First Data 500 on Sunday, Oct. 27 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. It is the seventh race of the 10-race playoffs and the first race in the Round of 8. It starts at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Source: SHR