Fansided

5 drivers who could still win their way into the NASCAR Playoffs — and probably need to

By Nick Tylwalk

LONG POND, PA - JULY 29: Daniel Suarez, driver of the #19 Stanley Toyota, stands on the grid prior to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Gander Outdoors 400 at Pocono Raceway on July 29, 2018 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
LONG POND, PA - JULY 29: Daniel Suarez, driver of the #19 Stanley Toyota, stands on the grid prior to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Gander Outdoors 400 at Pocono Raceway on July 29, 2018 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /
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WATKINS GLEN, NY – AUGUST 04: Daniel Suarez, driver of the #19 STANLEY Toyota, stands on the grid during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series GoBowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International on August 4, 2018 in Watkins Glen, New York. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)
WATKINS GLEN, NY – AUGUST 04: Daniel Suarez, driver of the #19 STANLEY Toyota, stands on the grid during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series GoBowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International on August 4, 2018 in Watkins Glen, New York. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images) /

Daniel Suarez

Best shot remaining: Darlington

Now here’s a driver with all arrows pointing up. Suarez starts the most important segment of his Cup Series career to date on the back of two top-four results, including a runner-up finish at Pocono where he was very impressive. His equipment is not an issue, unlike others on this list, as Kyle Busch has been killing it in Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas and Erik Jones managed to nab himself a victory as well.

We can mostly rule Michigan out, as Suarez has been pretty terrible there in three Cup Series starts. Indianapolis is a possibility, but Bristol has only been a middling stop for the 19 team. So we’ve got our eye on Darlington, where Suarez showed he could come close to taming the Lady in Black during his XFINITY Series days, coming in third in both his starts. It’s also arguably the place where misfortune has the best chance of striking the Big 3, thus clearing some of the bigger hurdles to a victory out of the way. At the very least, he’s the driver on our list who would surprise us the least if he stole a W before Las Vegas.

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