NASCAR: 5 possible landing spots for Daniel Suarez in 2020
By Asher Fair
Nowhere
Daniel Suarez could very well end up without any ride in the 2020 NASCAR season, which would be unfortunate for him after he was (a) confident about returning to Joe Gibbs Racing in the 2019 season and then (b) confident about returning to Stewart-Haas Racing in the 2020 season after Martin Truex Jr. ended up replacing him behind the wheel of the #19 Toyota at Joe Gibbs Racing after all.
It would be unfortunate, but in a way, it would be justified.
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As mentioned on the previous slide, Suarez has competed in the Cup Series for three seasons and never driven for a team other than a top-tier team. After spending two seasons at Joe Gibbs Racing, he drove for Stewart-Haas Racing in 2019.
He failed to secure a victory in 108 starts, and he failed to qualify for the playoffs in all three seasons. Perhaps most disappointingly, he was the only driver on any of these teams to fail to qualify for the playoffs each year.
In the 2017 season, Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth all qualified for the playoffs, with Busch advancing to the Championship 4, Hamlin advancing to the round of 8 and Kenseth advancing to the round of 12.
In the 2018 season, teammates Busch, Hamlin and Erik Jones all qualified for the playoffs, with Busch again advancing to the Championship 4. Then this year, teammates Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer and Aric Almirola all advanced to the playoffs, with Harvick advancing to the Championship 4 and Bowyer advancing to the round of 12.
That simply doesn’t make Suarez’s struggles look any better, even though he has shown flashes of potential with his two pole positions, five top three finishes, including a career-high finish of second place at Pocono Raceway in 2018, and three additional top five finishes.
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For which team and in which series will Daniel Suarez compete, if he competes at all, in the 2020 NASCAR season? Will he end up at one of the destinations outlined in this article?