NASCAR: Five dark horse drivers who could win at Bristol
By Asher Fair
Daniel Suarez, Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 19 Toyota
We are getting to the point where Daniel Suarez can no really be considered a dark horse driver. While he has only driven one career Cup Series race at Bristol earlier this season and finished in 18th place, his development throughout his rookie season since then makes him a definite dark horse contender to win this weekend.
Last weekend, Suarez had a legitimate chance to win his first career Cup Series race at Michigan until he crashed out late. Up until that point, he had not failed to finish a race since the Daytona 500, his first career race.
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Suarez came into Michigan having finished in the top 7 in four straight races, with the most recent race at Watkins Glen yielding a career-high 3rd place result for up. Up until that four-race streak of top 7 finishes began for him with his 6th place finish at New Hampshire, he had just one finish better than 7th place, which shows how much he has improved lately since the start of the season.
He’s driving for arguably the fastest team in the sport in Joe Gibbs Racing, a team that only recently has really started ramping things up and still has three of its four drivers currently in the playoffs. Suarez is the only Joe Gibbs Racing driver currently outside the playoff bubble, so watch for him to potentially break through this weekend.