Other than winning the race, getting to finish in the top 5 is something every driver hopes for. However, uncertainty rules the Cup races and last-minute incidents can completely overturn the result for a driver. Trackhouse Racing‘s Daniel Suarez recently encountered the same in the race at the Circuit of The Americas. He held a dominant position in the closing laps when double overtime ruined his dominant run. The Hendrick Motorsports driver, who bumped him, finished in the top five, adding to the rival’s frustration.

The #99 Chevrolet driver didn’t take it well and he went through and addressed it in a way that could have been dangerous. However, his actions got the attention of NASCAR, attracting a $50,000 penalty. In a recent episode, a renowned NASCAR insider shared his views on the outrageous act of Suarez, which could’ve turned into a huge error, possibly bigger than Suarez could have foreseen.

NASCAR insider slams Suarez for making a grave error

Suarez was in the top 5 but slipped down to 27 owing to a contact in the braking zone while entering turn 1. Ross Chastain bumped into Bowman who went into Suarez’s car, flattening his car’s right front tire. During the latest episode of the Door Bumper Clear podcast, Brett Griffin, spotter for Kaulig Racing, shared his opinions about Suarez’s intentional contact with Alex Bowman which happened after the cool-down lap on the pit road.

Commenting on the severity of the act, Griffin said, “He almost made a huge error. A massive massive massive error. So, when he caught Bowman, after the race and he hit him, there’s an official standing right there on the left, less than 10 feet from there.

“And we burnt Ty Gibbs to the ground last year on this show for doing something very similar. There is a ‘f**king human standing there, and if you hit him a little bit harder, and he loses control of his car and he spins out. That human is at the risk of death.” 

Last year, Ty Gibbs had intentionally door-slammed his rival Ty Dillon while exiting the pit lane. NASCAR took a hard approach to Gibbs’ act. They fined him $75000 along with a reduction in 25 Cup points, both for the driver and the team, 23XI Racing. However, Suarez got a monetary penalty only and no reduction in points.

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Daniel’s contact could’ve resulted in a catastrophe if any of the officials or any crew members were hit. Brett revealed he felt absolutely cringed when he watched the replay. He said, “I was like, Holy Cow this could’ve gone bad!” But, it’s not like Suarez just came out of nowhere and bumped into Bowman. There was a significant reason behind it.

Suarez didn’t even spare his teammate

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Getting down to the 27th position from the 5th position is frustrating, especially when it’s not the driver’s own fault. When the race got over, Suarez asked his spotter about the whereabouts of Alex Bowman. He then overtook several drivers and got to Bowman in the pit lane.

Suarez was so furious at Bowman, that he even bumped his teammate Chastain as he entered the pit road. He then went on and made repeated contacts with the #48 Chevrolet and even confronted Bowman in person to argue about the incident during the double overtime.

Read More: Bubba Wallace Insider Calls Out “Idiot Personified” Daniel Suarez as $100,000 Threat Looms for Repeating Ty Gibbs’ Controversial Mistake

Suarez’s act was deemed idiotic and highly irresponsible. However, when it comes to awarding a strict penalty as it did with Ty Gibbs last year, NASCAR seems to have dropped the ball. Will the $50,000 penalty be enough to deter other drivers from doing something similarly dangerous?