Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-55):
● Daniel Suárez started 19th and finished eighth to earn three bonus points.
● By lap 20 the Ford driver reached the top-10.
● Suárez jockeyed for position and made his first pit stop on lap 35 for fuel only.
● The Haas Automation driver returned to the track just before the first caution was displayed on lap 37.
● The Mexico native restarted fourth to finish the stage in eighth.
● Precipitation halted the race at lap 57, just after the first stage ended.
● Suárez pitted during the Stage 1 break for fuel, four tires and adjustments.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 56-110):
● The race resumed on Monday.
● Suárez started eighth and finished fifth to earn six bonus points.
● He was up to fourth by lap 75.
● Made a scheduled green-flag pit stop on lap 94 for fuel and a wedge adjustment.
● He returned to the track in 16th and had worked his way up to the top-five when an accident occurred to end Stage 2.
● During the stage break he pitted for fuel, four tires and adjustments to help with a tight condition.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 111-188):
● Suárez started sixth and finished 32nd.
● The caution was displayed on lap 121, but Suárez did not pit. He was in 12th.
● During the lap-132 caution, Suárez pitted for fuel and four tires from the 20th position and restarted 19th.
● By lap 145 he was back up to the top-five.
● Under caution on lap 154 he pitted for fuel only and restarted seventh.
● A multicar accident occurred on lap 162, and Suárez sustained damage while trying to avoid the melee.
● He went two laps down while he pitted for repairs to the Haas Automation Mustang and returned to the track in 29th.
● Shortly after the green flag, Suárez brought out the next caution on lap 168 after a he cut a tire, forcing him to pull into the garage to end his day.
Notes:
● Ryan Blaney won the 1000Bulbs.com 500to score his third career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his first at Talladega. His margin of victory over second-place Ryan Newman was .007 of a second.
● There were nine caution periods for a total of 43 laps.
● Only 20 of the 40 drivers in the 1000Bulbs.com 500finished on the lead lap.
● Ford took six of the top-10 finishing positions in the 1000Bulbs.com 500.
Daniel Suárez, Driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“We had a good car all day. Unfortunately, with all of those cars spinning in front of me it was hard to avoid them. It’s superspeedway racing, and there really isn’t anything you can do about it. The guys worked really hard to repair the car as much as they could, but we cut a tire there at the end and the damage was just too much to overcome.”
Next Up:
The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday, Oct. 20 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. It is the sixth race of the 10-race playoffs and the final race in the Round of 12. It starts at 2:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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