Daniel Suarez knew it was “game over” when he lost his help from Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain during overtime Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Suarez fought to a second-place finish in the NASCAR Cup Series playoff opener. He was side-by-side with Joey Logano on the restart and at the white flag, but the teammates couldn’t stay locked together in Turns 1 and 2 on the final lap as the Team Penske teammates of Logano and Ryan Blaney surged on the bottom.
Logano was clear ahead at the finish as Suarez fought Blaney for the second position. NASCAR had to confirm the finish to determine the finishing order as a crash occurred in Turns 3 and 4 that froze the field.
“I can’t thank [Chastain] enough because he pushed me very, very good on the restart, all the way in [Turns] 1 and 2, all the way in [Turns] 3 and 4,” Suarez said. “He kept me in position, and we were right there in the fight. I was timing the second push and once I got the second push, I lost him. I don’t know if he had a flat tire or what happened exactly, but once I lost him, I knew that was game over because that was my dancing partner.
“Overall, I’m very proud of everyone at Trackhouse. They did a great job. We’ve been pretty strong here for a couple of years. It kind of stinks we’re not in victory lane; I felt like we were in position to do that, but that’s part of racing. We have to continue to work [but] good starting out the playoffs.”
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The only Trackhouse Racing driver in the postseason, Suarez had reason to be confident in having his teammate as a helper. He also nearly swept the Atlanta races for the season.
In the final laps of regulation, the No. 99 battled Logano and Ty Gibbs for the lead and potential victory. On a restart with five laps to go, Gibbs cleared Suarez in Turns 1 and 2 before Suarez made a crossover move down the backstretch to pull even once more. Gibbs, Suarez, and Logano were three wide for the lead with three laps to go.
As the Trackhouse Chevy was side-by-side with Logano’s Ford for the lead with two laps to go, a crash involving Noah Gragson on the backstretch set up overtime. Logano was listed as the race leader going into the overtime attempt and Suarez was second.
Logano chose the bottom lane with Blaney behind him. Suarez and Chastain lined up on the outside.
“Honestly, right now, I don’t care about points,” Suarez said. “It just hurts we’re not in victory lane, but that’s part of it. Maybe there are a couple of things I could have done better.”
Suarez leaves Atlanta with a 22-point advantage on the cutline.