LEBANON, Tenn. – A solid effort from Daniel Suárez in NASCAR Cup Series qualifying was quickly erased Saturday when the No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro spun and clipped the outside wall.
After limping the car back to pit road and assessing the damage, Suárez was justifiably upset.
“I knew I was loose,” Suárez said. “I was expecting it to be a little better, and I just trusted probably a little too much. I was free, and I just got into the corner a little bit faster than the previous time expecting it to stick, and it didn’t stick.”
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During practice and qualifying, drivers noticed a bump in the track near Turn 4, leading to a number of spins during Saturday’s session, including Bubba Wallace as he was closing in on the Busch Light Pole.
“There is a bump, but if you are free before you get to the bump, you get to the bump, and you are already spinning out,” Suárez explained. “And I was free before the bump, and then the bump, that’s what made me spin.
“Very unfortunate,” said Suárez. “But yeah, it is what it is. We have to bounce from here.”
Suárez posted the fastest lap in Group A qualifying, preceded by a 16th-place effort in practice on Friday afternoon. The weekend was shaping up to be a solid pre-race effort for both Trackhouse Racing entries, as Ross Chastain landed the organization’s first pole.
Even after the unfortunate incident, Suárez remained optimistic about the speed shown at the team’s home track.
“Right now, the question is are we gonna be able to fix it or not?” asked Suárez rhetorically. “Hopefully, we do. If we can fix the car and the car is the same, we should be fine.”
Mid-afternoon Saturday, the No. 99 team decided to proceed with preparing a backup car for Sunday’s race. Suárez will start at the rear of the field.