FORT WORTH, Texas — Daniel Suarez had his best race since moving to Stewart-Haas Racing this offseason on Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway.
The Mexico native had a fast car in basically every preliminary session leading up to the big race and then when the trophy was on the line Suarez put up a hell of an effort again before ultimately settling for a third place finish.
It was an encouraging run for the driver who suffered a bitter divorce from Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of last season. Suarez feels that his No. 41 team is trending in the right direction going forward.
“The [No.] 41 group they brought a very fast race car the entire weekend here,” Suarez said. “It’s always more fun when you have a car like that. I feel like we have made a lot of progress from the end of the year to now.”
Suarez put together a 10th place effort in Martinsville a couple of weeks ago and then followed it up with a podium finish in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500. Does he feel a win is near?
“I’m not sure if we are next to win, but we are getting better for sure,” Suarez explained.
Suarez continued by saying, “I feel like we have a bright future ahead.”
The 27-year old driver has moved into 14th in the championship standings after his great run in the lone star state, which marks his highest spot in the rankings so far this year. Suarez’s stellar performance came in front of friends, family as well as several members of the Mexican media that drove to cover the event.
Suarez took a lot of pride in getting a top finish at the race he considers his hometown track (as far as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series circuit is concerned).
“It’s good. Probably my home race,” Suarez explained. “It’s always good to have a good week here. Hopefully we can repeat it.”
