Since word broke of Daniel Suárez’s impending departure from his team, a shift in his demeanor has not gone unnoticed by fans and garage insiders. Though he’s worn a composed expression, the uncertainty looming over his future has clearly been eating away at him. So, when he tangled with teammate Ross Chastain at Sonoma Raceway, the lid finally blew off the pressure cooker.
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Seething on the radio, Suárez didn’t hold back. “You better hope I don’t get to him today,” he barked, his frustration boiling over. Chastain, through his spotter, offered an apology, insisting he had no plans of diving in so deep. But Suárez wasn’t in the mood to turn the page. When asked if they’d clear the air, he replied coldly, “I hope so. And if it doesn’t happen, he’s gonna get it back.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr., however, sided with Suárez, calling his outburst warranted. He broke down the moment corner by corner on The Dale Jr. Download podcast. “I’m watching this play out in Turn 11,” he said. “Chastain and Suárez are battling in the braking zone. There was a car in front of them, #22 Logano. Neither one of them are in position to try to outbrake Logano into the corner.”
He continued, “Chastain’s got a run on Suárez out of (Turn) 10. Suárez knows it. Chastain moves right to try to outbrake the #99. The #99 then pulls in front of him to block that move. You block, you pay. And while Chastain is the one who f***ed up here, he made a mistake, you can see the rear tires lock up right there.
“And he’s like, ‘I can’t get it stopped. We’re going in this corner. I’m going to hit you. I’m sorry. This is what happens.’ So, Chastain f***ed up. Let’s get that clear. But, if the #99 doesn’t block, he doesn’t get run over.”
Earnhardt pointed out that while the incident itself was significant, the real sting lies in the context. Suárez, now on his way out, feels overlooked and cast aside. Until now, he’s kept his head down and carried himself with professionalism, even amid career turbulence. But this latest clash may have personally struck a nerve.
As Earnhardt explained, Chastain is usually one to admit when he’s in the wrong, but the bigger picture is what’s eating at Suárez. He’s staring down the barrel of an uncertain future, and moments like these only add salt to the wound. For now, his frustration is a cocktail of on-track disappointment and off-track doubt.
