NASCAR: Daniel Suarez penalized following 2018 Brickyard 400

By Asher Fair | Sep 14, 2018

BROOKLYN, MI - AUGUST 10: Daniel Suarez, driver of the #19 Stanley Toyota, stands on the grid during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Consmers Energy 400 at Michigan International Speedway on August 10, 2018 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images) /

Daniel Suarez has been penalized 10 points following the final race of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series regular season, the Brickyard 400.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Daniel Suarez has been penalized 10 points following this past Monday’s NASCAR Cup Series race, the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard, more commonly known as the Brickyard 400, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Suarez entered the 160-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in Speedway, Indiana needing a victory to qualify for this season’s playoffs, as there was no way by which he could have secured a playoff berth based on his point total in the regular season’s final race.

However, Suarez finished the race in 18th place, and he failed pre-race inspection four times on Saturday, which is an L1-level infraction. As a result, he was docked 10 points in the championship standings, and the #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team were docked 10 points in the owner standings.

Suarez was sent to the rear of the field at the start of the Brickyard 400, and his car chief, Todd Brewer, was ejected from the race.

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After finishing the Brickyard 400 in 18th place, Suarez sat in 20th place in the championship standings with 511 points. He trailed Roush Fenway Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who sits in 19th in the standings with 521 points, by 10 points, and he led Chip Ganassi Racing’s Jamie McMurray, who sits in 21st in the standings with 494 points, by 17 points.

Suarez trailed Richard Childress Racing’s Ryan Newman, who sits in 17th place in the championship standings as the top non-playoff driver with 532 points, by 21 points.

As a result of his 10-point penalty, Suarez now has 501 points. He still sits in 20th in the championship standings, but he now trails Stenhouse Jr. by 20 points and leads McMurray by just seven points. He trails Newman by 31 points.

This L1-level penalty is Suarez’s second L1-level penalty of the season. He was docked 20 points in the championship standings following his third place finish in the AAA Drive for Autism 400 at Dover International Speedway back in early May.

The L1-level penalty that Suarez was issued following the Brickyard 400 was not reflected in the calculation for this week’s edition of the NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings, as these rankings were already finalized prior to this penalty being announced. However, expect the appropriate changes to be made to the variables involved in this calculation for next week’s edition of these rankings.

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How will Daniel Suarez respond to this penalty in this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway? With this race, the South Point 400, being the first race of the 10-race 2018 playoffs and Suarez having failed to qualify for the playoffs, will there be less pressure on him as he attempts to secure his first career Cup Series victory?

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