Joe Gibbs Racing driver Daniel Suarez was made available to the media at Texas Motor Speedway:
DANIEL SUAREZ, No. 19 Juniper Networks Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
How are you looking forward to this weekend’s race at Texas Motor Speedway?
“It’s a tough race track. I won’t say that it’s been the best race track for us so far, but it’s one of those race tracks that we’re looking forward to it. This is almost like my home race track. A lot of friends and family from Mexico came to this race and it’s a lot of fun. In the trucks, we’ve been a little successful here as well. It’s a good race track for us. In the races that we’ve had here, I’ve made a lot of mistakes and learned a lot from those for the second time and we finished in the sixth position last November. I feel like we are a different team. I feel like we have done a different kind of job in the last several races and we’re looking forward to keep building what we can in the last few races to keep that and being competitive to get our first “W” here.”
What are your expectations next week at Bristol with the planned heat races?
“I’m really looking forward to it. I’m the type of guy that I work step by step. Right now, honestly my mind is 100 percent here in Texas. I can tell you something, Saturday morning I will be thinking about Bristol, but for now, it’s everything about Texas. Bristol is a good race track for me. We finished second the first time and fifth the second time in Bristol last year. It’s a good race track for me. Hopefully we can repeat and continue that consistency with strong runs. We’re starting to learn about those heat races. It’s going to be different. A lot of people are going to be racing, a lot of people are going to be just being smart to be safe for the main race. Whatever is going to happen, I don’t even know what I’m going to do. I’m going to go out and race, but I what I do know is we’re going to have some extra time on the track so it’s going to be fun, too.”
What will it take to break into victory lane with your team?
“A couple weeks ago it was just a little bit of fuel. It’s just a question of time. We just need to keep working. The team is on par, the team is doing an amazing job. We have fast race cars, and that’s always the most important thing. I feel like I’m doing my part pretty decent, too. We have to keep working. The team is doing his part, I’m doing my part. We’re on the same channel, we’re moving forward together and I think we just need to put all the pieces together to make it happen. Right now I feel like we have all the pieces, we just need to put them together and make it happen in one of these races. We have been in the top-five pretty much every race. When you’re doing that, pretty much sooner or later it’s going to happen. We just need keep doing what we are doing, and that’s it.”
What was going through your mind on the final laps at California when it seemed like the win was within your grasp?
“That was an exciting and at the same time, a sad moment for us. We knew that we were very close on fuel. We were told that we were good. When the 20 (Erik Jones) ran out of fuel, we knew that he was shorter than us, so when he ran out with three laps to go we knew that we were half a lap, or one lap short. From that point, we started to save as we could. When the 18 (Kyle Busch), he was saving very aggressive and more than us. I was catching him, and then he blew the left front (tire). After that, I feel like it was a gift when I passed him and then I was getting into the exit of the corner (turn two) and right in the middle of the back straightaway my car started running out of fuel. Like I said, it was a very exciting moment for a few seconds, and then a sad moment the last half lap. It’s the first time it happened to me in my career. I don’t think it’s going to be the last one. I hope to be here a long time. That’s part of racing. We gamble together. We have to keep digging and keep gambling as well.”
Did you think you could coast to the checkered flag and win?
“It was a possibility if I had 10 more seconds of fuel, like half a gallon, maybe. It was just a half lap what I was looking for. That’s part of racing. At one point, we were told we were good and then with three laps to go they told me to keep saving because the 20 (Erik Jones) was running out a little bit sooner than they were expecting. It’s part of racing. The 18 (Kyle Busch), he saved a lot of fuel in the last few laps and he ran out passing the checkers. We have fast race cars, but at the same time we needed fuel. That’s part of racing.”
