Daniel Suarez will breathe a sigh of relief. Despite being forced to settle for a 31st-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway, the Trackhouse Racing star has made it into the Round of 12. He struggled for pace all weekend but somehow managed to finish four places higher than his qualifying position, keeping his title hopes alive in the process. The Mexican-American driver narrowly made it into the next round of the playoffs, finishing 10th in the standings, just one point ahead of Alex Bowman and Chase Briscoe.

After the race, Suarez admitted that because of his car’s limitations, he was forced to hold back playoff rival Ty Gibbs, who ultimately crashed out of the postseason despite finishing the race in 15th place.

Daniel Suarez made the best of a bad situation at Bristol

Going into the race, Suarez was 36 points above the cutline, knowing that he couldn’t rest on his laurels on the 0.533-mile track. The No. 99 team has done fairly well during the Round of 16 stage, earning 73 points at Atlanta and Watkins Glen and securing 14 playoff points in the process. The Trackhouse Racing driver knew that Bristol would be a difficult race, particularly if his car struggled for speed and that’s exactly what happened. The last time he finished in the top 10 on the track was in 2019, indicating that Trackhouse has traditionally struggled to compete at ‘The World’s Fastest Half-Mile’.

However, all’s well that ends well. Daniel Suarez will now have something to fight for going into the 2024 Hollywood Casino 400. Despite his No. 99 Chevy struggling with speed and handling at Bristol, the 32-year-old managed to hold back Ty Gibbs briefly, which may have ended the Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s title hopes. Speaking about his attempts to unsuccessfully fend off Gibbs, Daniel Suarez said, “At one point there, I felt bad for the 54 because I had to hold him back for a bit, he got past but I had to do that. I wasn’t fast enough to run with him so I had to play games to affect him as much as possible in a clean way.”

It’s fair to say that Suarez’s strategy worked out well. Ty Gibbs, frustrated at being kept at bay got within four points of the Trackhouse Racing driver before his tires gave out while attempting to make a pass. As a result, the No. 54 Toyota Camry driver lost out on track positions during the closing laps and finished the race the race in 15th place. However, how did Suarez manage to progress into the Round of 12 after a poor result at Bristol Motor Speedway? Simply put, lady luck was on his side, as Martin Truex Jr finished the race in 24th place, which meant Suarez’s 36-point cushion came in handy to progress into the next round.

With the points resetting once again, Suarez can take a breather before Cup Series action resumes at Kansas Speedway. As things stand, the Trackhouse Racing driver is inside the elimination zone going into the 2024 Hollywood Casino 400. However, the 32-year-old will be optimistic about his chances at Talladega and Charlotte Roval, having done well at drafting tracks and road courses in the past. While he may not be a favorite to reach the Championship 4, the 32-year-old will take it one step at a time, with the hopes of making a deep playoff run.

Matt Swiderski explains Suarez’s race strategy

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Daniel Suarez knew that it was going to be a difficult weekend the moment his No. 99 Chevy struggled for pace in practice at Bristol Motor Speedway. Knowing his car’s limitations, it was clear that Suarez would not be able to outperform his playoff rivals, particularly Ty Gibbs at the ‘World’s Fastest Half Mile’. This meant that his race needed to be focused on stopping the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, which was his best hope of progressing into the Round of 12.

Sharing insight about Daniel Suarez’s race strategy, his crew chief Matt Swidski said after the race, “The first part of that was good communication so that Daniel knew what he needed to do there. And then Daniel and Frankie (Kimmell II, spotter) did a great job of managing that, letting people by that wouldn’t affect us points-wise, just to make it harder for the 54 to move forward. So just letting certain cars — not easily get by us, but basically, if you had a choice to block one lane or another, you’re gonna block the one with the 54.”

With three races remaining before the Round of 8 begins, fans wouldn’t write off Daniel Suarez just yet, given how shrewdly the Mexican-American implemented his race strategy at the 2024 Bass Pro Shops Night Race. With stakes being higher than ever, sometimes it makes sense to drive smart, not fast, while in Suarez’s case, he didn’t have a choice but to make the best of his circumstances. Could he make it to Phoenix Raceway and potentially lift the championship trophy? Time will tell. Let us know what you think about his playoff chances in the comments!