Daniel Suárez re-watching Atlanta spring finish in preparation for first playoff race

For all the fans who watched the Atlanta race in the spring, the three-wide finish was a win. But Daniel Suárez was the only driver who won that night. It was a dramatic, thrilling finish, and now the NASCAR Playoffs begin at the high-speed 1.5-mile track.

Back in the postseason again, Daniel Suárez is ready to make some noise. Returning to a track where he won this season isn’t a bad way to start.

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Perhaps the best part about being the winner, is that Suárez gets to rewatch the race so much. After all, he has to study up on tape for this weekend.

The Trackhouse Racing driver talked about his film studies with Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports during NASCAR Playoffs media day.

“It’s been fun, you know, I started actually today,” Suárez said. “It’s been fun to watch the replays and the last restarts. There’s a few things that I think I could have done better and I’m going to focus on that to be a little bit better this time.”

That race wasn’t all easy-going for the 99 team. They had early damage and had to work on the car throughout the race. By the end, they were in the right place at the right time.

“Yeah, I mean, I remember that after we wrecked Lap 2, the car was a little beat up. Then it took us, I don’t remember how long it took us to get the car better, but it took us a solid half of the race. Once we got it better we were able to race towards the front.”

Pockrass asked if it is still hard to believe how close the finish was, Daniel Suárez summed it up perfectly.

“Yeah, it was pretty damn close that’s for sure, especially for a three-wide finish.”

Are we going to get another thrilling finish this Sunday?

Daniel Suárez likes the new Atlanta

If we look at the pre and post-reconfiguration at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Daniel Suárez has had a drastic change in performance. Ever since this became a small superspeedway, it’s been a place where Suárez steps up and performs.

In six races prior to the reconfiguration, Suárez had an average finish of 21.67 with only a single top-10. In the five races since his average finish has been 8.4. The one thing that hasn’t really changed is his starting position. 19.833 at the old Atlanta and 18.8 at the new Atlanta.

If we take out the DNF from March 2023, Suárez has an average finish of 3.25 in four races at the new version of Atlanta. The way this first round is laid out, the 99 team has a serious path to the next round. He is the 11 seed and has a one-point buffer on the cutline, that’s not the worst starting spot.

After Atlanta, it’s Watkins Glen, a track Daniel Suárez has three top-5 finishes in six starts. There is a chance that the 99 can pick up enough points to avoid having to race for a win at Bristol, a track that doesn’t favor Suárez.