After his clash with teammate Daniel Suárez at Sonoma, Ross Chastain chose silence over explanation, leaving pit road without addressing reporters. Since then, the paddock and fanbase have been abuzz with speculation. Some defended Chastain, insisting Suárez had blocked him in a move unbecoming of a teammate, while others, including Dale Earnhardt Jr., placed the blame squarely on Chastain’s shoulders.
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The incident happened when Chastain’s No. 1 Chevy tangled with Suárez’s No. 99 on Lap 45 in Turn 11 during the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at the California road course. The contact dropped Suárez from 14th to 29th, though he clawed back to finish 14th, while Chastain crossed the line in 24th.
This week, the Trackhouse Racing driver publicly owned up to his mistake, extending an apology to Suárez and reflecting on their conversation. Speaking on his Like a Farmer podcast, Chastain admitted, “I do have to talk about spinning my teammate. It’s bad. It’s really bad. I’ve already apologized to him, and I am sorry to the #99 group. I just got in too hot to (Turn) 11.”
He elaborated, “#22, #99, #1 car all going into (Turn) 11 and just pushed the #99 into the #22, the last other guy that I wanted to hit after Chicago. Wanted all that to settle down and end up spinning the #99. So that definitely hurt their day. They end up beating us with all the craziness at the end.”
Chastain didn’t sugarcoat his accountability. “Been an unpleasant Monday. I am responsible for my actions. So, now I get to live with that and we move on. Daniel and I had a good conversation. But ultimately doesn’t take back the fact that I wrecked him. So those are never easy to talk about,” he concluded, acknowledging the sting felt on both sides of any on-track dispute.
During the media availability at Dover, Chastain reiterated his regret, stating that his rapport with Suárez won’t be derailed by a single misstep. Admitting fault, Chastain approached Suárez and his crew chief to clear the air. He stressed that wrecking the #99 was never his intent.
“For the first half of the brake zone, I thought I was fine. And then the second half of the brake zone, I realized I’m going too fast, and I should have reacted better, and I didn’t. So that’s just a non-negotiable to wrecking, spinning teammates out. We had conversations this week,” Chastain explained.
Chastain admitted he wasn’t sure if he gave Suárez and the No. 99 team exactly what they wanted to hear, but made his apologetic intentions clear nonetheless.
As the dust settles, Chastain heads into Sunday’s Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover sitting 10th in the playoff standings, with a win at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.
