Drawn-out Bristol a struggle for injured Suarez

Bristol Motor Speedway was a "difficult weekend," admitted Daniel Suarez, because of the ever-changing weather and his injured left hand.

"The thumb is fine," Suarez said after finishing 11th in the Food City 500. "The rest of [my] hand is sore. I feel like it was working extra hard, but it's fine. I knew if I could go through Bristol, I'm going to be fine for the rest of the year. This is a tough place."

Diagnosed with an avulsion fracture after a wreck at Texas Motor Speedway, the good news for Suarez was the constant breaks in action around the Tennessee short track. There were 13 total cautions in addition to three red flags.

And with the race being postponed until Monday just shy of the halfway point, Suarez did not have to race 500 laps in one shot.

Suarez, left, with race winner Kyle Busch (Rusty Jarrett/LAT)

"I feel like we were actually better than 11th," said Suarez, who also led five laps when he stayed out during one caution period. "It's been an OK weekend, but we have to keep working. I feel like overall, it was a positive weekend because we showed speed and we ran up front.

"We have to build on that and go to next week to Richmond."

Bristol was Suarez's second-best finish of the season and he moved to 24th in points.