CUP: Freak incident results in race-ending fire for Daniel Suarez
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
SCREENSHOT: NBC Sports, @NASCARonNBC
Daniel Suarez picked up the 4th last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at the Daytona International Speedway when his #99 Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Chevrolet caught fire after 37 of 164 laps.
The finish, which came in Suarez’ 276th series start, was his first of the season and first in a Cup Series race since July 23, 2023 at Pocono, 40 races ago. In the Cup Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 5th from a fire, the 20th for he #99, and the 860th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 5th from a fire, the 40th for the #99, and the 1,955th for Chevrolet.
It's been a huge year for Suarez, who following a winless 2023 campaign broke through in a dramatic three-wide photo finish in this year’s second round of the season in Atlanta. Assured his spot in the Playoffs, Suarez was later re-signed by Trackhouse Racing for 2025, married his fiancée Julia, and in a ceremony attended by NASCAR president Steve Phelps, earned his dual citizenship. On the track, his results have been a bit mixed. He led 15 laps in Las Vegas, another 13 in Martinsville, and finished 5th in Texas. But the next six races saw him finish no better than 18th. He then turned things around after an 11th-place showing at the Chicago Stret Course, finishing 8th in Indianapolis, and making the most of NASCAR’s new “option” tire at Richmond to lead 93 laps and finish 10th. He entered Daytona fresh off an 8th-place run in Michigan, his third-straight top-ten finish and sixth of the season. To that point, he hadn’t had a DNF since the Daytona 500.
At Daytona, where Suarez ran a red car for the race’s sponsor, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, he qualified 22nd with a lap of 49.767 seconds (180.843mph).
Securing the 40th and final starting spot was Erik Jones, whose #43 Family Dollar Toyota started hopping the nose down the backstretch, causing him to cancel his timed lap. He was the only driver to not take time. Jones didn’t incur a tail-end penalty for any repairs, nor did Austin Dillon, whose #3 Breztri Chevrolet received a steering adjustment. Thus, when the race started, Jones crossed the stripe 3.479 seconds back of the lead.
Onboard Erik Jones' #43 in the early laps. (SCREENSHOT: NASCAR Drive)
At the end of Lap 1, Jones dropped to last place Joey Gase, who for the first time drove for the NY Racing Team with sponsorship from the National Fire Protection Agency on the #44 Chevrolet. That time by, Gase was 0.108 second behind new 39th-place runner B.J. McLeod, bringing his Live Fast Motorsports entry back for the first time since Talladega. As McLeod’s #78 Power Slap Chevrolet inched forward, moving Parker Retzlaff to 39th in the #62 Funkaway Chevrolet, Gase’s spotter told him to follow Retzlaff on track. “Really loose,” said Gase. “Really fucking loose.”
On Lap 4, Gase pulled ahead of Carson Hocevar, the last-place finisher of this year’s Daytona 500, whose #77 Premier Security Chevrolet, but Hocevar pulled back ahead on Lap 5 by just one-tenth of a second. By then, the field was so tightly bunched in a three-wide pack that just 1.848 seconds separated the leader from last place. Gase pulled alongside Hocevar on Lap 6, the two just 0.095 apart, but Hocevar held off Gase and started climbing through the pack. This again put Retzlaff in Gase’s sights by 0.185 on Lap 10 before Hocevar slipped back to 39th again on Lap 13.
The next time by on Lap 14, Hocevar again showed speed, this time by opening an advantage over last-place Gase. The NBC cameras showed the #44 behind the pack by open track, and by Lap 15, he’d already lost the draft, a full 2.118 seconds behind new 39th-place runner Ryan Preece in the #41 Truewerk Ford. As the tail end of the field gradually broke off into a second pack, Gase’s deficit continued to grow, the leaders running a full four seconds faster each lap. On Lap 16, Gase was 4.033 behind the 39th-place car, then 6.450 on Lap 17, 12.938 on Lap 18, 16.998 on Lap 20, 20.034 on Lap 21, 24.067 on Lap 22, and 28268 on Lap 24. By then, Gase as a full 31.771 seconds back of the lead. Gase’s spotter had already started discussing where he should run when the leaders caught him, but NASCAR reminded the team to do this on Lap 25. The plan was to run along the yellow line in Turns 1 and 2, then go below the yellow line on the backstretch as the field passed. This was completed on Lap 27, making Gase the first driver off the lead lap. While the interval from 1st to 39th increased to 5.222 seconds on Lap 32, no other drivers were lapped, so Gase earned his back when Stage 1 ended under green on Lap 36.
Daniel Suarez has his day ended in the most unfortunate circumstances.@AlwaysRaceDay pic.twitter.com/l7CoINZYRp
— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthew_CFB) August 25, 2024
It was under this caution that the last-place battle took a bizarre turn. As the 39 lead-lap cars crowded pit road, Suarez pitted his #99 in Stall 38, just past pit entrance, the right-rear of his car sticking out toward the edge of his pit box. This proved critical for Denny Hamlin, whose #11 FedEx Cares Toyota was pitted behind him in Stall 39. Hamlin completed his stop as Suarez was still taking on fuel, causing Hamlin to pull directly behind Suarez. Suarez then pulled forward, only to be blocked by yet another car, the #21 DEX Imaging Ford of Harrison Burton in Stall 38. While Suarez was blocked, Hamlin now had enough room to exit, only to unwittingly drive through a puddle of spilled fuel from Suarez’ car. As Hamlin’s car backfired, the fuel ignited, spreading to the left-rear corner of Suarez just as Suarez backed up to clear Burton. While Hamlin apparently pulled away without serious issue, Suarez’ left-rear remained on fire for an entire lap around the track, spreading to the fuel cell. Gase’s spotter noticed the issue, but by then he couldn’t tell whose car it was. By the time Suarez returned to pit road, feeling the heat at his back, the flames had spread behind the rear wheels, threatening to breach the cockpit. At first, Suarez waited for the flames to be put out, knowing his day would be done if he climbed out. But he then got out of the car without serious injury, and the flames were finally put out. Suarez took over last place when he lost a lap in the process around the 38th circuit. As the crew pushed him to the garage, NASCAR declared “99 to the garage, mechanical,” meaning he hadn’t suffered crash damage and could technically return to the race. But clearly the damage was too substantial, and the team loaded up for the night.
Onboard Suarez' burning car after he climbed out. (SCREENSHOT: NASCAR Drive)
The first of two multi-car pileups completed the Bottom Five on Lap 60. Heading down the backstretch, Noah Gragson’s #10 Rush Truck Centers Ford was stuck behind Ross Chastain’a #1 Worldwide Express Chevrolet when Gragson was bumped loose by Corey LaJoie’s closing #7 Celsius Chevrolet. The contact turned Gragson into both the inside and outside lanes, triggering a 17-car pileup. Gragson continued down the track with broken suspension, but stopped after his car drove diagonally down the backstretch, leaving him 37th. Denny Hamlin, who collided with LaJoie, climbed from his #11 FedEx Cares Toyota and was done for the night. Ryan Preece brought his damaged #41 Truewerk Ford down pit road, but remained classified 39th behind Gragson and Hamlin after his “Crash Clock” expired. Chase Elliott managed to turn two more laps in his damaged #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet before he pulled behind the wall.
Harrison Burton headlines a big night for the underdogs
The night saw Harrison Burton score a massive upset, earning his first career win in his 98th career Cup start – just weeks after it was announced Josh Berry would drive his car in 2025. Burton led only the final lap, earning the fabled Wood Brothers their long-awaited 100th Cup Series win in a race Harrison’s father Jeff won in 2000, the year Harrison was born. It was the first win for the Wood Brothers in the summer race at Daytona since 1983, when Buddy Baker claimed his 19th and final career victory.
Finishing a strong 4th was Cody Ware, who was making just his sixth start of the season in the #15 Jacob Construction / Parts Plus Ford. This tied the team’s best-ever finish, earned by David Ragan in the 2020 Daytona 500, and was Ware’s first career top-five finish in his 103rd series start. He had previously finished 6th in this race two years ago. It was setting up to be a fantastic night for all of Rick Ware Racing as teammate Justin Haley led 21 laps in the #51 Beef a Roo Ford, only to be swept up in a Turn 1 crash with just nine laps to go, leaving him 32nd.
Giving Burton the critical shove to victory was Parker Retzlaff, who was making just his second career Cup start and first since Richmond, where he drove for Motorsports Business Management. This time driving for the always surprising Beard Motorsports in the #62 Funkaway Chevrolet, Retzlaff ran as high as 2nd on that final lap before he was bumped out of line and slipped to 7th at the finish.
The last five of Daniel Hemric’s seven career top-ten finishes in the Cup Series have all been 9th-place finishes, including on Saturday night in Kaulig Racing’s #31 Cirkul Chevrolet. Four of those finishes have come this season, most recently in Nashville.
Also surviving the chaos were this year’s Daytona 500 last-place finisher Carson Hocevar, who nearly scored his second-straight top-ten finish by coming home 11th in the #77 Premier Security Chevrolet. Teammate Zane Smith in the #71 Focused Health Chevrolet crossed the line two spots behind in 13th, just hours after it was announced he wouldn’t be driving for Trackhouse Racing in 2025.
John Hunter Nemechek ran as high as 3rd in the #42 Pye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota, was collected in the first wreck, was then spun battling Justin Haley for the lead entering Turn 3, then rebounded to finish 15th.
B.J. McLeod took home 19th and Joey Gase 20th, each earning their best Cup finishes of the season. Gase’s came in his first Cup start in nearly three years, his first-ever race for both the NY Racing Team and in the NextGen car. Only twice in his 90 previous starts has Gase finished better in a Cup race.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the first last-place finish for the #99 in a Cup Series race at Daytona since February 19, 2006, when Carl Edwards’ #99 Office Depot Ford was involved in a multi-car crash in the Daytona 500. The number hadn’t finished last in the summer race since July 4, 1987, when Brad Teague’s #99 Slender You Figure Salons Chevrolet crashed after 5 laps.
*Suarez is the first Cup driver to finish last at Daytona due to a fire since February 20, 1977, when Bobby Wawak’s run in the #32 Encyclopedia Britannica Chevrolet ended after he suffered serious burns in a fire three laps into the Daytona 500.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #99-Daniel Suarez / 37 laps / fire
39) #41-Ryan Preece / 59 laps / dvp
38) #11-Denny Hamlin / 59 laps / crash
37) #10-Noah Gragson / 59 laps / crash
36) #9-Chase Ellott / 61 laps / crash
2024 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Joe Gibbs Racing, Kaulig Racing, Motorsports Business Management, Spire Motorsports, Stewart-Haas Racing (3)
2nd) Penske Racing (2)
3rd) Front Row Motorsports, Hendrick Motorsports, Legacy Motor Club, RFK Racing, Richard Childress Racing, Rick Ware Racing, Trackhouse Racing (1)
2024 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Ford (11)
2nd) Chevrolet (9)
3rd) Toyota (4)
2024 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
