Mechanical woes hit Trackhouse, reigning champ at Charlotte Roval
In Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at the Charlotte Roval, 51 of the 59 scheduled laps in the final stage went caution-free but not without playoff drivers being victims of attrition, including Trackhouse Racing’s two drivers.
Daniel Suarez fell to 38th, off the lead lap, as he battled an issue that made his car nearly undriveable. Finally, on Lap 83, with a plan in mind, Suarez came to pit road for the crew to look under the hood and replenish the steering fluid.
On Lap 85, Suarez rejoined the race as teammate Ross Chastain pitted for a suspension issue.
Chastain spent some time on pit road before the team did a full fix in the garage, which went until Lap 94 when he finally rejoined the race.
Suarez and Chastain finished 36th and 37th, five and nine laps down respectively, ahead of Joey Hand who crashed out in the final stage.
Daniel Suarez missed the Round of 8 by nine points, despite earning 13 stage points and entering the race 12 points ahead of the cutline.
Ross Chastain, however, made the Round of 8 by six points, aided by a Stage Two win that netted him 10 points. Had Chastain finished eighth or worse in Stage Two, he would’ve missed the round and locked Kyle Larson in.
Like Chastain, Kyle Larson encountered suspension issues in the final stage. Like Suarez, Larson earned plenty of stage points – a race-high 14 points. Even after the issues, Larson had a 7-point advantage during the red flag before overtime.
However, overtime changed everything.
Christopher Bell charged to a win and Chase Briscoe to a 9th-place finish which locked each of them into the Round of 8 and eliminated Larson and Suarez after the Round of 12.
Larson missed by 2 points after finish 34th, 5 laps down. He tied Kyle Busch in 2020 and Jimmie Johnson in 2014 for the earliest elimination of a defending champion.
Larson is 9th in points with 2,200, while Bell is 10th in points, 38 points behind him. Bell and Briscoe are 4th and 8th in points, +3 and -9 respectively.
| 1 | Chase Elliott | 4046 | +31 |
| 2 | Joey Logano | 4026 | +11 |
| 3 | Ross Chastain | 4021 | +6 |
| 4 | Christopher Bell | 4018 | +3 |
| 5 | William Byron | 4015 | -3 |
| 6 | Ryan Blaney | 4015 | -3 |
| 7 | Denny Hamlin | 4013 | -5 |
| 8 | Chase Briscoe | 4009 | -9 |
| 9 | Kyle Larson | 2200 |
| 10 | Daniel Suarez | -38 |
| 11 | Austin Cindric | -46 |
| 12 | Tyler Reddick | -47 |
| 13 | Austin Dillon | -66 |
| 14 | Kyle Busch | -77 |
| 15 | Kevin Harvick | -94* |
| 16 | Alex Bowman | -96 |
*pending an appeal of a 100-point penalty, amount doesn’t include the penalty
SOURCES:
Racing-Reference.Info
Team Chevrolet
Discover more from The Racing Experts
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com