Daniel Suarez finishes top 10 in 100th start

Daniel Suarez has joined 208 other drivers in NASCAR history to start in at least 100 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races.

Suarez finished 10th Saturday night (September 21) at Richmond Raceway in the Federated Auto Parts 400, marking the 27-year-old driver’s 100th race in NASCAR’s premier series.

“I feel like it was a clean day,” Suarez said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t have the speed that we wish we had, but we worked very hard.

“We made good adjustments. The pit crew did a pretty decent job. They got better as the night went and we just had a top 10 car and finished in the top 10.”

All of Suarez’s 100 starts have been consecutive, beginning at the 2017 Daytona 500.

Suarez drove his first two seasons in the No. 19 Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing before joining Stewart-Haas Racing in 2019.

Through the first 28 races of the season, Suarez has earned one pole, three top-five finishes, 10 top-10 finishes, has led 134 laps and is ranked 17th in driver’s points.

In his first 100 starts, Suarez has earned seven top-five finishes, 31 top-10 finishes, two poles and has led 209 laps. His highest finish in driver’s points was 20th in his rookie year of 2017.

“We’re still working extremely hard to get that first win and hopefully we can make it happen soon,” Suarez said.

STATISTICS
Erik Jones was the most-previous driver to make 100 start prior to Suarez. Jones won in his 100th start at Darlington Raceway earlier this month.

No other active Cup Series driver will make their 100th start this season.

Timmy Hill (87 starts), Corey LaJoie (84) and Jeffrey Earnhardt (76) are the closest active drivers to the mark.

The first driver to ever hit 100 starts was Lee Petty in June of 1953 at the Louisiana Fairgrounds in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Petty led 87 laps in that race en route to his 10th career victory.

SOURCES
Ford Performance
Racing-Reference.info