Daniel Suarez blames poor execution as he failed to deliver at the must-win Daytona race

Daniel Suarez failed to repeat his 2022 playoff run after disappointing end to his Daytona outing.

Daniel Suarez blames poor execution as he failed to deliver at the must-win Daytona race

Daniel Suarez and Ross Chastain (Via IMAGO)

Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Saurez produced one of the best seasons of his Cup career in 2022, securing a historic win at Sonoma and a playoff spot. But the Chevy driver failed to repeat the feat as he couldn’t secure a win at Daytona. He had the opportunity to make it on points, given Bubba Wallace gets eliminated on the first few laps, which didn’t happen.

Suarez is one of the six playoff entrants from 2022 who missed a spot in the last 16. The HMS duo of Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott joins him. Alongside them are Austin Dillion, Austin Cindric, and Chase Briscoe, all of whom made it last season by securing race wins. Elliott is the only active Cup champion to miss out on playoffs this year.

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While discussing his outing in Daytona, the Mexican pointed out that the poor execution on stage three cost him the race. He calmed that he had a fast car and made up some solid ground on the first two stages after dropping down to the mid-20s. He added that the No:99 team didn’t react as they should in stage 3.

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“I feel like the car had good speed, and we showed that in coming from the back. We came from the mid-20s in stage one and, I think, finished fifth in stage two. We just didn’t execute well in stage three, and stage three is the most important one,” Suarez said, as reported by Speedwaydigest.

“We had a lot of conversations about setting ourselves up for that final stage, and things played out in a way that we didn’t react properly. Unfortunately, we were not able to make up the difference. It is what it is, and I felt like we did an okay job in the first three-quarters of the race, but in the last quarter, and most important, we didn’t,” the former Joe Gibbs Racing driver added.

In case you missed it: WATCH: Bubba Wallace embraces $3.5 billion worth team owner Michael Jordan after milestone night at Daytona

Daniel Suarez is not ready to stop the fight

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Daniel Suarez (Credits: @Jockey/Twitter)

The Chevy driver isn’t ready to stop the fight and is determined to prove himself by performing well in the last ten races of the season. He also thanked his sponsors and the team for backing him the whole season amidst some struggles.

“I can’t thank everyone enough. Trackhouse, all the sponsors, Freeway.com, Worldwide Express, Coke-Cola, and so many people that help us out to be in this position. Quaker State and Comm Scope. It’s been a lot of fun, and we have ten more races to go out there and continue to fight,” Suarez said.

The No:99 driver hopes to end the season with at least one win in his bag. He also has the opportunity to help his teammate Ross Chastain, who secured the playoffs, to go deep and make it to the last 4, just like he did in the 2023 season.

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