CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR fined Daniel Suarez $50,000 on Wednesday for hitting another vehicle on pit road following the race at Circuit of the Americas.
The fine was classified as a behavioral penalty and cited "contact with another vehicle on pit road after the race."
Suarez hit both his Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain from behind and then Alex Bowman as the cars returned to pit road following Sunday's race on the road course. He spoke with Bowman on pit road after, and leaned into Chastain's car to speak to his teammate through the window.
“He just thought I drove in and tried to drive through him,” Bowman said. “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.”
Suarez finished 27th in a race that went to triple overtime with 10 cautions in the final 17 laps. The race went seven laps past the scheduled distance.
The penalty could be considered light in that Suarez avoided a points reduction. NASCAR last year fined Ty Gibbs $75,000 and docked him 25 points for hitting another car on pit road. The penalties are typically intense because of the safety concerns with team personnel and NASCAR officials located on pit road.
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