Suárez Earns 19th-Place Finish at New Hampshire

Race Winner:      Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 1 Winner:  Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 2 Winner:  Aric Almirola of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

 

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-75):

● Daniel Suárez started 13th and finished 10th, earning one bonus point.

● The No. 41 Haas Automation Mustang was free on entry and landing when the first caution of the race was displayed on lap 45.

● Suárez visited pit road for fuel, four tires and adjustments and returned to the racing surface in 12th.

● The 27-year-old reached the top-10 on lap 50 before slipping back after contact with another competitor, causing Suárez to have to work his way forward once again in the closing laps of the stage to finish 10th.

● During the Stage 1 break Suárez pitted for fuel, four tires and adjustments. Unfortunately, a hiccup leaving his pit box dropped the Haas driver back to the 22nd position.

 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 76-150):

● The No. 41 driver started 22nd and ended the stage in 11th.

● Suárez was working his way back through the field when a competitor put fluid on the track in front of him, causing him to spin and bring out the caution on lap 110.

● The Ford driver came down pit road for fuel and four tires and to receive a slight fender adjustment. He restarted 23rd on lap 116.

● Suárez was in the 16th position when the third caution came out on lap 140. Crew chief Billy Scott made the call for the No. 41 machine to stay out in an effort to possibly earn bonus points.

● Suárez ended the stage in the 11th spot. During the stage break, he pitted for fuel, four tires and adjustments and fell back to 21st after varying pit strategies.

Final Recap (Laps 151-301):

● The No. 41 driver started 21st and finished 19th.

● The Mexico native made an unscheduled pit stop from 17th on lap 181 for four tires and fuel and to check a vibration.

● The No. 41 team confirmed a loose wheel, and Suárez returned to the track one lap down.

● Suárez was running in the 27th spot on lap 214 when the caution was displayed. He pitted for fuel and four tires.

● During the next caution on lap 219, Suárez was not in the free pass position and stayed out on the track to restart 23rd on lap 223.

● The final caution of the race was displayed on lap 266. Suárez was one position shy of being the beneficiary of the free pass.

● He pitted for fuel and four tires and restarted 22nd.

● The remainder of the race went green, and Suárez ultimately finished 19th in his Haas Automation Mustang.

 

Notes:

● Suárez earned his 16th top-20 of the season and his third top-20 in four career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at New Hampshire.

● Harvick won the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 to score his 46th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his fourth at New Hampshire. His margin of victory over second-place Hamlin was .210 of a second.

● Harvick is now tied with NASCAR Hall of Famer Buck Baker for 16th on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series win list.

● This was Harvick’s 23rd Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory and his milestone 100th top-10 since joining SHR in 2014.

● There were nine caution periods for a total of 48 laps.

● Only 18 of the 37 drivers in the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 finished on the lead lap.

● Joey Logano remains the championship leader after New Hampshire with a three-point advantage over second-place Kyle Busch.

 

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

“We had a fast Haas Automation Mustang today, but unfortunately we don’t have the result to show for it. We had that issue and it was hard to recover from, but the car had speed, which is good.”

 

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Gander RV 400 on Sunday, July 28 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. The race starts at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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