NASCAR Cup Series: 5 playoff drivers who could be in trouble
By Asher Fair
NASCAR playoff drivers in trouble: No. 2 – Daniel Suarez
Trackhouse Racing Team’s Daniel Suarez came out of the gate hot to start the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, and it appeared as though he had turned a corner.
Last year, he won at Sonoma Raceway, and that first career victory ended up being what secured him his first playoff spot. In his first career postseason appearance, he advanced to the round of 12 and nearly made it to the round of 8.
Suarez opened up the 2023 season as one of two drivers with three straight top 10 finishes, including a fourth place finish at Auto Club Speedway. But since then, he has only twice finished higher than 22nd in eight starts. Those two results are relatively lackluster finishes of 17th and ninth.
As a result of his struggles, Suarez has dropped out of the playoff picture and sits 19 points below the playoff cut line. Given how things worked out last year, plus the fact that the season’s first 11 races have already seen eight different winners, it is probably going to take a win for Suarez to get back to the playoffs.
Can he do it again at Sonoma Raceway next month, or perhaps at one of the other remaining road or street courses on the regular season schedule?