KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina (March 6, 2019) – Daniel Suárez and the No. 41 Ruckus Ford Mustang team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) head to ISM Raceway near Phoenix for the fourth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series event of the season. For the first time in 2019, the Mexico native will pilot the Ruckus themed Mustang. Ruckus will also be on the No. 41 Mustang in two weeks at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.
Ruckus Networks, an ARRIS company, is redefining connectivity by bridging the digital divide and connecting people around the world. Ruckus strives to deliver ubiquitous connectivity to its access points, switches and cloud services.
Suárez, who is 18th in the Cup Series point standings, heads to Phoenix after leading laps last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway before falling back late in the race to finish 17th. The result still marked the 27-year-old driver’s best March-race finish at the track.
Phoenix is arguably one of Suárez’s best tracks on the NASCAR circuit. He has top-10 finishes in both of his March Cup Series starts at Phoenix. What makes his results more unique is he’s had success on both of the track’s configurations. In 2018, the track moved the start-finish line as part of a massive renovation project.
In addition to his Cup Series starts at the mile oval, Suárez also has five NASCAR Xfinity Series starts. With the exception of an accident in his 2017 start, Suárez hasn’t finished outside the top-11 in the series where he was the 2016 champion. Suárez also has two starts in the NASCAR Truck Series at Phoenix with a win in November 2016 and a fourth-place finish in November 2015.
Before Suárez made his way to the ranks of NASCAR’s premiere series, he entered the sport via NASCAR’s weekly and touring series. While driving in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, he made three starts at Phoenix from 2011 to 2012 with best finishes of third in March 2012 and sixth in November 2011.
Ruckus, a technology provider, and SHR, a racing organization, both ultimately strive to achieve the same goals – to operate at high performance. Ruckus provides secure and reliable access to applications and services, and offers a complete offering of high-performance network equipment. The company's portfolio includes Wi-Fi controllers, indoor and outdoor access points, switches, network access security, and professional support and services.
SHR was successful at Phoenix last March with Kevin Harvick taking the checkered flag for this third consecutive win of the season. Harvick is the winningest driver at Phoenix with nine career wins, five while driving for SHR. Harvick’s Las Vegas win was part of an extremely successful season for the two-time championship-winning SHR organization with all four entries capturing a victory.
Ford has 16 Cup Series wins at Phoenix and goes into the weekend with two consecutive wins for its new Cup Series Mustang. Additionally, the Mustang has led 65 percent of the laps in the most recent two races this season, and has five consecutive stage wins.
Before Suárez hits the track this weekend, he’ll enjoy a National Hockey League game Thursday evening with his fellow Ford drivers at the Gila River Arena in nearby Glendale, where the Arizona Coyotes will take on the Calgary Flames. But starting with opening Cup Series practice Friday, he’ll be looking to cause a Ruckus this weekend.
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Daniel Suárez: Driver of the No. 41 Ruckus Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
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Stewart-Haas Racing will have an e-sports team this year. How much do you pay attention to online racing?
“I was one of those guys, actually. I have a little simulator in my home, and I was one of those kids that, four or five years ago, I used to stay up until 3 or 4 in the morning playing with drivers all over the world online. I feel like it really helps you, actually. I started doing it just for fun as a game, and then I started to realize that it was actually helping. It helps you to be consistent and to hit your marks and to be able to beat other people. I won’t be surprised if there are a lot of guys who are doing well in the e-series and then get an opportunity to drive a real racecar and do well there, too.”
We’ve seen your workouts on social media. How does that benefit you?
“Working out is a lifestyle for me. I like to feel well and it helps me in racecar, but it also helps me mentally. You lose a lot of weight in the racecar, and you have to be strong not only at the start of the race, but also at the end of the race. At the end of the day, you don’t win a race at the beginning when everyone is fresh, you win the race at the end when everyone is tired, and I feel like being in shape gives me that advantage at the end.”
How important is your relationship with your crew chief Billy Scott?
“It’s extremely important. I feel it’s just like any relationship. You have to understand the person and know how they work. You have to know your engineers and build that chemistry. I feel like I’ve had great people in the past with me, but I feel like now, with Billy Scott and the rest of the No. 41 group, that we have a bright future ahead of us and we’ll have some fun, too.”
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