A year removed from the biggest win of his career—a breathtaking three-wide dash to the line that saw Daniel Suárez edge out Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney in one of NASCAR’s closest-ever finishes—the Trackhouse Racing driver saw his return to Atlanta end in a heap of crumpled sheet metal.
On Lap 183, Suárez found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Running the outside lane in a three-wide battle off Turn 1, he came down into Ty Gibbs, lost control, and slid helplessly down the frontstretch. By the time the smoke cleared, Cole Custer, Noah Gragson, Cody Ware, JJ Yeley, and Todd Gilliland—who had led laps earlier—had all been swept up in the carnage.
Suárez owned up to the mistake.
“Yeah, I mean, it was quickly, definitely, but the No. 54 (Ty Gibbs) was there,” Suárez admitted. “He was in the middle, and I didn’t know he was in the middle. That’s on me and my spotter. I think we have to do a better job in those situations. It’s part of it.”
It was a frustrating end to an already lackluster day.
“We were not fast enough,” he said bluntly. “The No. 99 Freeway Insurance Chevy wasn’t handling the way I was hoping it would. Normally our speed is good and our handling is great, and that’s how we’ve been successful here. Today, that just wasn’t the case. We have to go through everything and see what we can do better for next time.”
For Suárez, there was no fairytale ending this time—only a long walk back to the garage and a list of what-ifs.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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