Suárez Finishes 32nd at Kansas

Race Winner:  Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Winner:  Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 2 Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

 

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-80):

● Daniel Suárez started eighth and finished third to earn eight bonus points.

● By lap two the Ford driver reached the top-five.

● Suárez 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.

● 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 didn’t pit during the Stage 1 break and started Stage 2 from the second position.

 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 81-160):

● Suárez started second and finished 13th.

● He took the lead in turn two on the restart.

● Slipped to second on lap 92.

● Remained in the top-five on lap 115, when the second caution was displayed.

● Pitted during the caution for fuel, four tires and adjustments, and restarted fifth.

● During the stage break he pitted for fuel, four tires and adjustments to help with his ill-handling Mustang and returned to the track in 16th.

 

Final Stage Recap (Laps 161-277):

● Suárez started 16th and finished 32nd.

● After a tough restart, 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.

 

Notes:

● Suárez led once for six laps – his first at Kansas.

● Denny Hamlin won the Hollywood Casino 400 to score his 36th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his fifth of the season and his second at Kansas. His margin of victory over second-place Chase Elliott was .128 of a second.

● There were seven caution periods for a total of 32 laps.

● Only 21 of the 40 drivers in the Hollywood Casino 400 finished on the lead lap.

 

Daniel Suárez, Driver of the No. 41 ARRIS Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“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.”

 

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.

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