And we are off to a sensational playoff starter at Darlington with plenty of drama and a spectacular finish for Hendrick Motorsports fans. While Kyle Larson got his first-ever Southern 500 win, his not-so-fortunate teammate, yet again ruffled feathers, ending his short track run in a wreck. Trackhouse Racing star, Daniel Suarez was furious at the HMS driver for his alleged “dumb move”, after Rick Hendrick’s driver pulled off a series of aggressive blocks on the #99 Chevy in the final hours of the race.
However, not everyone believes the #48 HMS driver should take the blame entirely. NASCAR veteran Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently came out to defend the driver, offering an interesting perspective on the whole fiasco as he believes Suarez too is at fault here.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. gets NASCAR nation thinking as he puts the blame on the #99
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Now, both Alex Bowman and Trackhouse Racing‘s Daniel Suarez aren’t having a dream season. In fact, nothing is going well for either driver on the track. While both have failed to make the playoff 16, they were looking to make the most of the remaining race to end their miserable 2023 outing.
Sadly, the story is not going that way either. The short track action at Darlington got the drivers in a late tangle with just 49 laps to the checkered flag. What is causing all the smoke, you ask? An aggressive block by the #48 driver, who was battling for the 8th spot, ticked off an ugly wreck that got 3 cars off the track.
While many fans might find the #48 Chevy to be at fault here, blocking Suarez aggressively not once but twice, NASCAR veteran and JR Motorsports co-owner Dale Jr. doesn’t believe so. Instead of blaming Bowman, he points the finger at Suarez, who could’ve avoided wrecking himself.
Talking on his podcast, Dale Jr Download, the veteran played out the sequence, saying, “This is some bulls**t, We were watching this like a lap or half a lap (Daniel) Suarez gets the runoff of the top of 4 he’s gonna have an opportunity to pass (Alex) Bowman and he’s got the run, right? He goes to move the left. Bowman blocks him way down the track like 3rd lane, not just one lane, blocked him down, down, down.”
He then added, “Bowman finally realizes that the block was successful. He starts coming back at the track to be able to commit to turn 1. He can’t go down turn 1 on the apron, right? He’s got to get up, got to get up the track, right? People are saying he blocked to the right, I don’t think so.”
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With his manager and friend, Mike Davis confirming, “You don’t think Bowman blocked to the right?” Dale Jr. says, “I really don’t, I think Bowman was just trying to get back on the straight away to enter turn 1.”
Diplomatic Dale Jr. dissects the whole Bowman-Suarez incident, saying both are responsible
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The 48-year-old veteran has been the heartthrob for NASCAR fans for many years. The humble and honest approach he has towards the sport has earned him several fans. Reflecting on the whole Bowman-Suarez fiasco at Darlington, the veteran, as always, went deep into the incident.
In fact, he scientifically dissected the tussle in percentage, with Bowman bearing most of it. While Dale Jr. is of the opinion that Bowman wasn’t trying to block Suarez for a 2nd time, saying, “I think Bowman was just trying to get back up the racetrack because he went way too far to the left on the first block,” he also thinks that both drivers are at fault here.
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He said, “Both drivers bear some responsibility. That was my comment on the TV. Now it ain’t 50-50, it can be 70-30.” He cleared the air, blaming the #48 driver while mentioning how Suarez could’ve saved his skin by not wrecking out, saying, “Bowman, I’m gonna give you 70% but when they are coming back up across the racetrack, the #99 could have wrecked the #48 if in the best-case scenario like he doesn’t have to lift.”
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Mentioning some of the greats like Tony Stewart and how things would’ve played out if they were in Suarez’s shoes, Dale Jr. summarized how it was not the #99 driver’s only option. He said, “As this thing is playing out, it wasn’t like, Oh f*ck man, he had no choice but to crash with him, he had a choice to not to wreck and as Bowman’s coming back up the across the racetrack all he had to do was turn Bowman right into the fence and get go left and carry on.”
What are your thoughts on this incident?