Suarez, who was running in the top-five and in contention for the win as the race went into three two-lap overtimes, got shoved off the course and into Martin Truex Jr. heading up the hill to Turn 1 on the first overtime restart.
Suarez’s Trackhouse Racing teammate, Ross Chastain, had gotten into Bowman, who then hit Suarez and sent him into Truex. Truex and Suarez’s cars ended up stopped briefly on the track and both lost numerous positions.
By the end of the last overtime, a frustrated Suarez knocked Chastain out of the way on the cool-down lap and followed Bowman down pit road after the race and slammed into the back of his No. 48 Chevrolet several times.
After exiting his car, Suarez also engaged in animated conversations on pit road with his teammate Chastain as well as Bowman.
NASCAR looking into it
A NASCAR spokesperson confirmed Monday that the sanctioning body was looking into Suarez’s actions on pit road. Any penalties would likely come early this week.
Intentionally damaging another vehicle on pit road can bring a loss of 25 to 50 driver and/or team owner points and/or a $50,000 to $100,000 fine.
“He just thought I drove in and tried to drive through him,” Bowman said of his discussion with Suarez. “I had the corner made. Only reason I was inside of (Suarez) was to protect from (Chastain). Then (Chastain) just hammered me in the corner, dumped me, then I ran into (Suarez), kind of cleaned him out.
“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.”
Bowman ended up finishing third in the race, Chastain fourth and Suarez was relegated to a 27th-place finish.
After the race, Trackhouse co-owner Justin Marks posted the following message on his Twitter account:
This whole NASCAR thing is a strain on my adult heart.
— Justin Marks (@JustinMarksTH) March 26, 2023
