Daniel Suárez came into Martinsville looking to string together another top-10 finish at the half-mile track.  The No. 41 driver began in ninth and jumped up to sixth in the opening laps of the First Data 500.  Under the lap-28 caution, the No. 41 Haas Automation team pitted for four tires, fuel, and slight adjustments. Suárez reported that he was good but a little free.  After a quick pit stop from his team, the 28-year-old Suárez restarted third on lap 34.  Near the end of the stage, Suárez battled with playoff drivers for a top-10 stage finish and came in 10th.

Daniel held steady in the 10th position for the opening laps of the stage.  The No. 41 Haas Automation team pitted for four tires, fuel and adjustments under the lap-176 caution after Suárez reported that he was free in the corners.  During the lap-253 caution, he reported that his racecar was tight. The team pits for four tires, fuel, and a wedge adjustment.  After running solidly in the top-10 for most of the stage, Suárez fell back during the closing laps and finished 11th.

Suárez began the final stage starting 10th, the No. 41 driver fell back to 12th in the opening laps.  During the lap-345 caution, Suárez reported that his racecar was tight. The team pitted for four tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment.  On lap 376, the No. 41 Haas Automation driver hit the outside wall and had to pit to repair the damage.  The team was able to get the Ford Mustang back out on track and meet the minimum speed.  Suárez was seven laps down in 33rd.  After several more cautions, Suárez was able to gain back a few positions and finished 31st.

“We had a good car in the first stage, and we ran solidly in the top-10. The car got tight in the second stage. Not the day we were hoping for, but we still have three races to go.”

Date: Oct. 27, 2019
Event: First Data 500
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (.526-mile oval)
Format: 500 laps, broken into three stages (130 laps/130 laps/240 laps)
Start/Finish: 9th/31st (Running, completed 488 of 500 laps)
Point Standing: 18th with 764 points

Next Up:
The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the AAA Texas 500 on Sunday, Nov. 3 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. It is the eighth race of the 10-race playoffs and the second race in the Round of 8. It starts at 3 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.