On the final lap of the June 7 Chicago race, Chase Elliott was in position for a top-15 result and extending his impressive streak of finishes inside the top 20 for all 20 NASCAR Cup Series events in 2024 — until he wasn’t.
That’s because Daniel Suarez drove into the rear of the No. 9 car on the final turn of the 2.2-mile layout and sent him for a spin. Elliott finished 21st. Suarez finished 11th.
The HMS driver was understandably upset about the last-lap developments and the in-car camera of Daniel Hemric showed just how upset when Elliott responded moments after crossing the finish line, hurrying through the field on the cool-down lap and catching up with the No. 99 on the straightaway between Turns 5 and 6 where he first drove hard into the passenger-side door of Suarez’s car, similar to Wallace, before pulling ahead and brake-checking him.
Daniel Suarez Describes What Happened With Chase Elliott
Several minutes later and after both drivers had exited their cars, the 2020 champion paid Suarez a visit in his pit stall for a conversation. After the pair had exchanged their versions of events, the Trackhouse driver described what happened to Frontstretch.
“We got together right there in the last couple of corners,” Suarez detailed. “He pushed me a little bit. And then I pushed him without my intention and ended up hitting him pretty good in the last corner. My bad on that.”
NBC Showed Bubba Wallace Contact With Alex Bowman but Not Elliott-Suarez Incident
While the contact and conversation between Elliott and Suarez was newsworthy, it wasn’t the hot topic after the race as far as conflicts were concerned. That was reserved for Elliott’s teammate Alex Bowman who made headlines for his win and what Bubba Wallace did to him on the cool-down lap.
Wallace, who was not happy after an earlier incident in Stage 1 when Bowman spun the No. 23, caught up with the HMS car and slammed violently into the passenger-side door, which sent the No. 48 up against the outside wall right before Turn 12.
NBC cameras were naturally following Bowman’s trip around the 12-turn layout after he won the race and captured what happened with the 23XI Racing driver.
However, the coverage failed to show any of the in-race contact between Suarez and Elliott or what transpired after the checkered flag. As a result, fans didn’t know it happened and weren’t taking to social media and commenting on it like they were the Wallace-Bowman incident.
Will Elliott or Wallace Be Penalized?
Unsurprisingly, fans voiced their opinions on social media about Wallace’s move, with some even suggesting he should be suspended for it. Bowman, in his post-race press conference, said he didn’t believe the No. 23 driver should be penalized and he “deserved” the response for what had happened earlier in the race.
It’s not likely to happen anyway because earlier this year at Richmond an angry Martin Truex Jr. slammed the door of Kyle Larson before ramming his car into the rear of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin multiple times following the race’s conclusion. The 2017 champ was not penalized for his actions.
That being said, NASCAR did hand out a $50,000 fine and 25-point penalty to Carson Hocevar for hooking Harrison Burton under caution during the June 30 Nashville race.
While NASCAR isn’t likely to penalize either driver for their post-race actions, the sanctioning body does need to set clear ground rules going forward and much like cautions, any contact after the checkered flag — no matter where it happens on the track — could be grounds for some sort of points penalty and fine.
That decision would hopefully quell any such events from happening in the future, and, if it didn’t, the sanctioning body could then consider escalating the punishment to potential suspensions.
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