CONCORD, N.C.: Daniel Suarez’s dream season at Trackhouse Racing came to a dramatic ending in Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Road Course.
Appearing to be in a good position ending the cutoff race, Suarez and his No. 99 Travis Mack-led team were hoping to stay away from the danger zone and catapult them into the penultimate Cup Series Playoff round.
Prior to Sunday’s race, the No. 99 CommScope Chevrolet Camaro driver had decided that he would race this race no differently than he would have even with the change in the points with the
William Byron appeal.
“In my mind, nothing has changed,” said Suarez. “I don’t know if you are talking about the William Byron situation but for me, I don’t care. That’s something that I can’t control.
“He can be 20 points below or 20 points above and I don’t care. I can only control one car and that’s the No. 99 Chevrolet.”
Starting Stage 1 in the Bank of America ROVAL 400, Suarez would run all 25 laps in the third-place position.
Difficulty passing was a problem that all the drivers would seem to be having in Stage 1.
Suarez would gain eight valuable Playoff points in the stage and would come to pit road for tires, fuel and an adjustment.
Having lost four spots on pit road, he would tell his team he would carry the weight of their loss of track position, “I’ve got it,” he said. “We just have to clean up a couple of things”
Entering Stage 2, Suarez would have to start in the 29th place position due to his pit stop taking place at the end of the previous stage.
Working his way up to the 18th place, the green flag pit stops would begin and move him up through the field.
A big battle between the playoff drivers at the end of Stage 2 would leave Suarez in sixth place, gaining him more valuable stage points.
Reporting that the car was a little tight in Turn 3 and that the back end of the car was sliding out pretty well, he would tell the team that he does not want to abuse his car.
Although he was having problems hearing on the radio, the team still got to communicate that he was coming to pit road for tires, fuel, and an adjustment.
Stage 3 would begin and so would the problems with the power steering. By Lap 62 he had worked his way back up to the 18th place, but it is also when the power steering seemed to be completely gone.
Dropping to the 33rd position, crew chief Travis Mack would tell his driver, “I know it’s going to be really difficult, but you can do it. Just give me 100 percent here, that’s all that matters.”
Lap 68 would drop Suarez below the cutoff line for the playoffs by one point. He would tell the team: “No steering at all. My arms are completely gone.’
Coming to pit road on Lap 83, he would get four tires, fuel and the crew would make an attempt to correct the power steering issue. In all, Suarez would lose three laps during the stop eliminating him from competition.
The problem appeared fixed for Suarez, but he would later return to pit road on Lap 93 for additional power steering fluid – losing two more laps in the process.
Sending his driver back into battle, Mack would tell him, “There is nothing we can do for you.”
In a disappointing end to his Playoff run, Suarez would finish his run for a championship, nine points below the cutoff line.
“Very tough,” said a dejected Suarez after the race. “Probably one of the most difficult races I’ve had in my life, but it is what it is. As a driver, it’s something that’s out of my control.
“It’s sad the way the race was defined. We were very competitive and suddenly everything started to go wrong for us.”
Obviously frustrated by the turn of events Sunday, Suarez remains committed to still fight and become an asset to his Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain who barely advanced to the
next-to-last Playoff round.
“We leave with our heads held high, proud of the team,” added Suarez. “We are going to try to close the season well and help Ross to fight for the championship.”
Suarez and Trackhouse Racing will hope to hit the jackpot next as they return to Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway for the South Point 400 on Sunday, October 16, 2022.
Follow Grace Krenrich on Twitter @grace3140
