Chase Elliott saw his top-20 finishing streak, which spanned the past 22 races, come to an end in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Race. Elliott crossed the finish line in 21st-position, but heading into the final lap, he found himself inside the top-15, and was battling Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez for the 13th spot.
While the broadcast was focused on the battle for the win, rightfully so, between Alex Bowman and Tyler Reddick, Elliott shoved his way past Suarez for the 13th position in Turn 11. That contact sent Suarez into Brad Keselowski, which sent Keselowski into the tire barrier.
In the very next turn, Suarez made contact with the rear of Elliott’s car, which sent Elliott spinning out of the 13th position. NASCAR shared video of the in-car views from both cars during the final lap incident:
Here is what transpired between Chase Elliott and Daniel Suarez on the final lap, which ended Elliott’s top-20 finishing streak, and caused Elliott to confront Suarez on pit road: pic.twitter.com/JJBaEjExAa
— Toby Christie (@Toby_Christie) July 8, 2024
On the cool-down lap, Elliott took a swipe at the side of Suarez’s No. 99 machine, and then got in front of Suarez and laid on the brakes. Here is onboard footage from Daniel Hemric’s car, which shows the post-race shenanigans:
Chase Elliott & Daniel Suarez's moment during the cool down lap in Chicago, 2024.
Daniel Hemric's onboard pic.twitter.com/7f98MRdyUj
— Andrew (@Basso488) July 8, 2024
After the race, Elliott confronted Suarez on pit road. It looked like Elliott was upset with how he was raced by Suarez, but it appears that Suarez explains what caused the situation between the two, and the two drivers came to an agreement and Elliott walked away after an embrace from Suarez.
Here is the video of the conversation between the two drivers from Frontstretch.com’s Bryan Nolen:
.@Daniel_SuarezG and @chaseelliott talked to each other post-race after climbing out of their cars.
?: @TheBryanNolen pic.twitter.com/W1kOwAIBJV
— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) July 8, 2024
Aside from seeing his top-20 streak come to an end, Elliott had right to be mad after the race because he is locked into a tight battle for the NASCAR Cup Series Regular-Season Championship with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson. Larson exited the race due to a crash on Lap 33, and finished 39th in the 40-car field.
As a result, Elliott leaves Chicago just 11 points out of the points lead, but had it not been for the last-lap tussle, he would have been even closer.
2 Responses
I’ll give props to both Elliott and Suarez for handling the disagreement like men by talking their differences out and not resorting to a physical confrontation. Class on both of their parts.
I don’t think anyone should be upset with another. It wasn’t an ideal situation for any driver. It was unchartered territory so anything could happen. Tire selection, braking, speeds. Let the drivers sort out their feelings and move on. It wasn’t your typical type race.