Per NASCAR, the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet made unapproved adjustments to the roof area following Saturday’s inspection period. Daniel Suarez and team have been issued an at-track penalty that puts them at the rear of the field for the start. His car chief was also ejected.
He served the pass-through penalty on pit road after the green flag, but things only got worse from there. He was swallowed up by the field on Lap 11, but put the car in the middle of the track in order to keep up with the pack while being lapped. Things got tight as the field split him, and Suarez then tried to force his way into the outside line as the field roared by. He needed a caution but unfortunately for Suarez, he was the caution.
He came up in front of quickly closing B.J. McLeod, turning himself into the outside wall and spinning to the inside apron. Suarez continued on, but with damage. He remains in the race, albeit wounded and two laps behind. There is still hope for him as the car appears capable of keeping up with the pack, but collecting stage points will likely be impossible now.
Suarez had already qualified 31st, second-lowest of all playoff drivers. While regaining track position and even laps isn’t the hardest thing to do at a superspeedway, this puts Suarez in a tough position regarding his ability to score points and climb out of the whole he is was already in.
He finished 13th at Kansas, which was a decent result, but he failed to score any stage points. Meanwhile, his non-playoff teammate Ross Chastain went on to win the race. The Cup Series’ only Mexican driver clawed his way into the Round of 12 but now enters Talladega tenth in the standings, 14 points below the cut-line. Austin Cindric, who is behind him in the standings, starts on the front row. Four playoff drivers qualified inside the top-ten with only Christopher Bell, Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe and Suarez starting outside of the top-20.