NASCAR handed driver Daniel Suarez what it described as a behavioral penalty following last Sunday’s race at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas. After the race, Suarez appears to have driven into two drivers intentionally.
Suarez hit both Ross Chastain and Alex Bowman as the cars returned to the pits at the end of Sunday’s race. The act was reportedly in retribution for an accident that cost him a top five finish.
Suarez was in fifth for the second overtime restart of the race, when an accident involving Bowman, Chastain, and Chase Briscoe, halted his progress. After that, the rest of the field was allowed to pass him, effectively ruining his race.
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In video of the cooldown lap after the race, Suarez can be seen rushing past a number of drivers in the field. By the time he gets to pit lane, he pushes one driver out of the way, and then bumps into Bowman’s car.
Despite neither car receiving significant damage, Suarez’s second hit occurred in the pit lane, around a number of race officials. The increased likelihood of pedestrians, and the consequent need to drive more safely, is why pit lanes have a strictly policed speed limit. After the crashes, Suarez traded words with both Chastain and Bowman.
“He just thought I drove in and tried to drive through him,” Bowman said, per the Associated Press. “Daniel and I, we’ve been teammates in the past, raced together a long time. I respect the hell out of him. I’m sure he’s still not super happy. Just tried to explain that I wouldn’t race him like that, that I was shoved in there.”
NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition, Elton Sawyer said that the behavior was out of character for Suarez, but told NASCAR Radio that “there’s no excuse for what happened.”
Despite the sum, the penalty is arguably low for Suarez, who avoided having points taken away in the wake of the incident. Last year, NASCAR fined Ty Gibbs $75,000 and 25 points for hitting another car on the pit lane.