CUP: Bent control arm ends Daniel Suarez’ race in North Wilkesboro
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: Steven Taranto, @STaranto92
Daniel Suarez finished last in Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race at the North Wilkesboro Speedway when his #99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet crashed after 65 of 250 laps.
It’s been more than a year since Suarez’ dramatic three-wide photo finish victory in Atlanta, but the rules for the All-Star Race still assured him his sixth start in the main event. In the previous two exhibitions at North Wilkesboro, Suarez had been the first polesitter in 2023 and finished 7th, then took 15th in a field of 20 last season.
This time around, Suarez ranked 15th of the 38 entrants in the combined practice session. His crew then nearly won the Pit Crew Challenge, their time of 12.600 ranked 2nd by just 0.013 second behind winners Michael McDowell at Spire Motorsports. Suarez then ran slowest in qualifying with a time of 106.931 seconds (63.125mph), but gained back ground in Heat Race 2, climbing from 10th on the grid to 6th, securing him 12th on the starting lineup for the 250-lap main event. In pre-race ceremonies on Sunday, Suarez and crew wore Luchador masks. According to an interview, Suarez’ mask, which was white and had an embroidered “99” on the forehead, was made by one of his fans on the west coast.
Starting 23rd and last was Noah Gragson, winner of the Fan Vote, whose crew also needed to address a power steering issue. He’d be joined at the tail end by Kyle Larson, whose #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet didn’t turn a lap in Saturday’s heat race while Larson was in Indianapolis for the preliminaries to the Indianapolis 500. Relief driver Justin Allgaier was classified last in Saturday’s first heat race without starting the event while Denny Hamlin’s #11 Progressive Toyota finished last in Heat Race 2, taking the 20th spot from Suarez. “Let’s go make the most of it,” said Gragson’s crew before the start.
Heavy traffic ahead of Kyle Larson right after the green flag. (SCREENSHOT: HBO Max)
When the race started, Larson was immediately held up by a three-wide battle with Carson Hocevar’s #77 Gainbridge / WNBA All Star ’25 Chevrolet pulled to the inside of Noah Gragson’s #4 with John Hunter Nemechek’s #42 Family Dollar Toyota up high. Larson looked to Hocevar’s inside off Turn 2, but the three cars to his outside spread out, and Hocevar inched ahead of Larson coming to the stripe. Larson remained in last place through Lap 4, 2.971 seconds back of the lead, before he jumped to 22nd on Lap 5, dropping Nemechek to last. On Lap 10, Nemechek’s crew told him to stay patient, that he’ll reel in the cars sliding ahead of him.
On Lap 13, Harrison Burton dropped to the 21st spot, 6.012 seconds back of the leader to Nemechek’s 6.189. Burton, last August’s winner at Daytona and now a full-time XFINITY driver for AM Racing, secured a ride in Rick Ware Racing’s #51 Morton Buildings Ford, moving Cody Ware to the team’s “open” #15 for the preliminary race. Nemechek dropped Burton to last around Lap 19, and was 9.417 seconds back of the lead on Lap 23, a half-second back of Nemechek. On Lap 27, Burton’s crew bucked up their driver, saying he was consistently faster than the 8th-place driver, which at the time was Ryan Blaney.
Burton dropped Nemechek back to last on Lap 39, and the #42 now reported he was tight, dropping 17.177 back of the lead on Lap 48. Still, Burton was well within Nemechek’s sights, about a corner’s distance ahead of him on Lap 52. But the leaders were closing fast. And on Lap 57, just as then-leader Brad Keselowski pulled to Nemechek’s outside through Turns 1 and 2, the yellow came out.
Suarez’ crew drops the hood after his second pit stop following the incident. (SCREENSHOT: HBO Max)
The reason was Suarez, who was running in the outside lane in heavy traffic when the right-front tire went down, stuffing him into the outside wall off Turn 2. He’d been fighting a tight condition at the time. The caution came out as he slowed down the backstretch, then came down pit road. He lost a lap during the tire change, taking last from Nemechek, who earned the “Lucky Dog,” and returned to the track with his steering wheel about an inch-and-a-half off to the right. He then pitted a second time on Lap 63, and was now two laps down with the crew looking under the hood. They sent him back on track on the Lap 64 restart, then saw smoke coming off the right-front wheel. Already four laps down, Suarez returned to pit road on Lap 69, just before the leaders could catch him. The crew took another look and saw the lower control arm was bent, causing a rub. Suarez was pushed backwards from his stall, then pulled behind the wall on Lap 74. By Lap 78, he was parked behind the team’s hauler, and NASCAR officials were photographing his damage. NASCAR declared Suarez out on Lap 83.
Suarez pulls behind the wall. (SCREENSHOT: HBO Max)
The only other retiree was Brad Keselowski, both the polesitter and the driver who was lapping Nemechek at the time Suarez hit the wall. Keselowski wrecked in Turn 3 on Lap 176, cutting short a night where he had led 62 laps. Kyle Larson took 21st, the result of staying out on old tires to lead five laps, only to bounce off the wall and bend a right-rear toe link, dropping him three laps down. Burton and Nemechek rounded out the Bottom Five, both on the lead lap as the checkered flag fell.
Next week in the Coca-Cola 600, Suarez will make his 300th career Cup Series start.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the fourth time the #99 finished last in the All-Star Race. The last time was on May 19, 2012, when Carl Edwards’ #99 GearWrench / Fastenal Ford lost the engine after 25 laps.
*This was Suarez’ first last-place finish in an All-Star Race.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
23) #99-Daniel Suarez / 65 laps / crash
22) #6-Brad Keselowski / 176 laps / crash / led 62 laps
21) #5-Kyle Larson / 247 laps / running / led 5 laps
20) #51-Harrison Burton / 250 laps / running
19) #42-John Hunter Nemechek / 250 laps / running
