Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez spent the last four years as teammates at Trackhouse Racing, but they aren't teammates any longer. Suarez now drives for Spire Motorsports after being let go from Trackhouse, and he has had a solid start to the 2026 season.
But on Sunday, Suarez and Chastain were running at the backend of the top 20. Battling for 17th, Chastain passed Suarez to the outside with just a few laps to go. As the #1 Trackhouse driver passed him on the outside in a very close battle, he appeared to gesture to Suarez out the window with one finger. The two drivers also appeared to make contact much earlier in the race, on the second lap, but it was all rather inconsequential to the final result.
Chastain finished 17th, while Suarez was 18th. On the cooldown lap, the #7 Spire driver pulled alongside Chastain, who then doored him down the backstretch. They continued to drive side-by-side on their way back to the pits but Suarez pulled ahead.
Once stopped, both drivers quickly exited their vehicles and had a tense discussion next to the #1 car. At one point, they put their hands on each other and there was some brief shoving before getting separated. They continued to exchange words for a few more seconds before the confrontation ended.
These two even had some tense moments while they were still teammates at Trackhouse, notably at COTA in 2023 when Suarez took issue with Chastain for some contact on a restart, bumping him after the race and confronting him in the pits. Last year, they also had a coming together at Sonoma, where Chastain spun Suarez in the hairpin.
Suarez has since spoken out on the clash with Chastain, adding context to what we saw on TV and giving more thoughts on what transpired:
Watch Chastain/Suarez confrontation and on-track clashes
Just a quick post-race ... chat ... for Ross Chastain and Daniel Suárez 👀 pic.twitter.com/fWbi5uXKCS
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 15, 2026
Our in-car cameras caught this angle of what happened on pit road with the former @TeamTrackhouse teammates. pic.twitter.com/nnjkgurwI9
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 15, 2026
Here's a closer look at moments from Sunday's race involving @RossChastain and @Daniel_SuarezG. pic.twitter.com/qdjszmwwxg
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 16, 2026
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