NASCAR: Is Daniel Suarez the dark horse championship contender for 2019?

The usual championship contenders will likely contend once again in the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season. But will Daniel Suarez be the dark horse contender?

After winning the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship as the driver of the #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Daniel Suarez was promoted to Joe Gibbs Racing’s Cup Series team, albeit unexpectedly.

Following the unexpected retirement of Cup Series veteran Carl Edwards, the 27-year-old Mexican was named his replacement behind the wheel of the #19 Toyota for the 2017 season.

However, Suarez’s first two seasons of competition in the Cup Series were less than impressive, especially given the fact that he was driving for one of the sport’s top-tier teams in Joe Gibbs Racing.

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In 72 career races over these two seasons, Suarez has recorded four top five finishes, 21 top 10 finishes and one pole position. His best finish was his second place finish in the July race at Pocono Raceway in the 2018 season, the race for which he took his first career pole position. He has led only 75 of the 19,766 laps that he completed. His average career starting position is 15.7 and his average career finishing position is 17.4.

In both of his two seasons driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, Suarez was the team’s only driver to qualify for the playoffs, as all three of his teammates made the playoffs in both seasons.

In fact, a total of five drivers drove for the team in at least one of the last two seasons. Three, including Suarez, drove for the team in both seasons, and two drove for the team in one season each. Each of these five drivers except for Suarez won at least one race in the 2017 season and/or the 2018 season.

Meanwhile, Suarez finished in 20th place in the championship standings in the 2017 season, and he finished in 21st in the standings in the 2018 season. As a result of this overall lack of success, he is set to be replaced by 2017 Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. in the 2019 season.

So how could Suarez possibly be a dark horse championship contender after a lackluster stint at one of the sport’s top teams?

Suarez is set to drive for another top-tier team, Stewart-Haas Racing, as the replacement for Kurt Busch behind the wheel of the #41 Ford. While the fact that he is set to drive for Stewart-Haas Racing in itself may not translate to success considering his struggles driving for another top-tier team, the change in scenery might.

From the 2009 season through the 2012 season, Joey Logano drove for Joe Gibbs Racing. In 144 races over the course of those four seasons, he earned just two victories as the driver of the #20 Toyota. He never qualified for the playoffs, and he recorded a top finish of 16th place in the championship standings, which he recorded in the 2010 season.

However, after making the move to Team Penske (then Penske Racing) ahead of the 2013 season, Logano has been almost like a different driver. In five of his six seasons driving for the team so far, he has finished in the top eight in the championship standings.

Logano has qualified for the Championship 4 in three of its five seasons of existence, and he won his first career Cup Series championship to close out the 2018 season. He has earned 19 victories as the driver of the #22 Ford, including 18 since the start of the 2014 season.

Is Suarez guaranteed to have the same success at Stewart-Haas Racing that Logano has had since leaving Joe Gibbs Racing? Absolutely not.

But it certainly would not be wise to count out the 2016 Xfinity Series champion from stepping up his game now that he has been released by one of the sport’s top-tier teams and signed by another one. Logano’s success driving for Team Penske shows that it can be done. Don’t be surprised to see Suarez become the dark horse championship contender for the 2019 season.

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Will Daniel Suarez be a serious contender to win the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series championship? Where will he end up finishing in the championship standings? The 61st annual Daytona 500 is scheduled to get the 36-race season underway on Sunday, February 17 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, so be sure not to miss it. It is scheduled to be broadcast live at 2:30 p.m. ET on Fox. Be sure not to miss any of the other 35 races on the 2019 schedule, either. To read more details about the 2019 schedule, click here.

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