The Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Race was unpredictable to its core. From the on-track action, the weather, and even the winner. The last lap came, and the camera was all over the place as Bowman was about to take the win and another driver was closing in. Reddick had climbed 11 spots within five laps and was heading towards Bowman to grab the win from under his nose. The competition was fierce, looked like anything could happen any moment and, well, Reddick got into contact with the wall and lost all his pace. 

But while all that was happening, another battle was going on behind, which was as thrilling as this and between two drivers who are not always at odds with each other- Daniel Suarez and Chase Elliott!

Daniel Suarez and Chase Elliott’s tense race to the finish

It all started when Elliott muscled his way past Daniel Suarez for the 13th position in turn 11. The contact pushed Suarez into Brad Keselowski and Keselowski crashed into the tire barrier. In the next turn, Suarez seemed vengeful and clipped the rear of Elliott’s car, causing Elliott to spin out of the 13th position. And finally, Elliott could manage to cross the finish line in the 21st position.

And this is bad news for Elliott because this just broke his top-20 finishing streak, which had been going for the last 22 races. A huge deal for him, because he hasn’t finished worse than p19 ever in the season so far. 

Elliott then had a conversation with Daniel Suarez, confronting him at the pit stop. And rightly so, because that spin didn’t just end his streak, but also did enough damage to his championship goals. Elliott is locked into a tight battle with his HMS teammate Larson. Larson had already crashed and finished 39th in the Chicago race. This DNF by Larson was Elliott’s golden chance to get those points and get that lead in the regular season championship. But now he is 11 points out of the lead. So close yet so far! 

After the race, Daniel Suarez did kind of hesitantly admit that it was indeed his mistake. He said to Fronstretch, “We got together a little bit in the last couple corners. He pushed me a little bit and then I pushed him with all my intention and I ended up hitting him pretty good on the very last corner. My bad on that.” While it might not be a full-blown apology, it’s a step toward making things okay.

At the pit stop, it also looked like Daniel Suarez explained what happened and then Elliott walked away after an embrace from Suarez. It seems the season of forgiveness has fallen upon NASCAR. Despite having a lot to lose, Elliott remained composed! On the other hand, Alex Bowman, who faced a threat from Bubba Wallace, has also forgiven him and, in fact, is also asking for his forgiveness! 

Alex Bowman extends an olive branch to Bubba Wallace despite a cool-down lap clash

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Bubba Wallace was back to his old way, his way of being rash! After a slight incident with Alex Bowman in lap 25, he held onto the grudge. He didn’t take it out on the tracks but during the cool-down lap, where he wrecked Bowman. Now this was dangerous. The windows were open, the seatbelt could be off, and it’s a risk he shouldn’t have forced Bowman to take.

You’d think Bowman would be furious about it. Rather, he is apologetic after the incident. And not just that, he is even urging the higher-ups to not punish Wallace with any penalties. Bowman said, “He barely hit me, everything was fine and it was plenty deserved. I’d be mad, too. I ruined his day.”

Bowman also shared how he even tried to reconcile with Wallace during the rain delay. He said, “I just messed up. I’ve been embarrassed about it since it happened. I tried to call him during the rain delay and I shot him a text.”

While Bowman might have advocated for Wallace, it remains to see if NASCAR will pay heed. And well, NASCAR doesn’t take things like safety ever so lightly and we all saw what happened last week with Carson Hocevar. He was fined a hefty $50,000, even though he was only a rookie, and also lost 25 driver points. The two situations might be different, but both do violate the code of conduct. Usually, NASCAR hands out penalties on Tuesdays and Bob Pockrass already confirmed that they are indeed reviewing the case for penalties. 

But what do you think about this sudden air of forgiveness in NASCAR? Is it a welcome change or not? Let us know!