One thing that was sure after the Las Vegas race this March is that the Ross Chastain vs. Daniel Suarez chapter is far from over. The former teammates were battling just outside the top 15 in the closing laps when Chastain made a forceful pass around Suárez on the outside lane, appearing to flash a one-finger gesture in the process. Chastain ended up finishing 17th, with Suárez 18th, but the real tension came after they reached pit road and their frustrations boiled over to a heated bout of words and a shove. This clash is not new, and Suarez is not sugarcoating it.

“To be honest, it was a little bit. I mean, Ross and I were never friends. “We’re teammates,” the Mexican driver said on the Happy Hour podcast. And to be honest, Daniel Suarez has never been quiet about his frosty relationship with Chastain during their time together. The two never truly got along, but it was the level of tension between them that eventually made things especially difficult for Suarez within the team. And he admits that. 

“And I felt like, especially in the last year, things got a little bit weird, you know, but not just with him—there were several other people as well, and he was just part of that,” Suárez added. “But 100% honestly, I was actually surprised by some of the things he said. For me, he was just another competitor on the track. I didn’t have anything against him.” 

Looking back, Las Vegas was only the latest entry in a growing list of flashpoints between the two. The start was with COTA in 2023. Then, Suarez confronted Chastain after contact during a late overtime restart in Turn 1, where Chastain bumped Alex Bowman into the No. 99 Chevrolet and ruined Suarez’s race. After the race, Suarez bumped Chastain on the cool-down lap before the two argued on pit road.

Then came Sonoma in 2025, where Chastain locked up into Turn 11 on Lap 45 and spun Suarez while the two teammates were battling for position. The incident dropped the No. 99 Chevrolet from 14th to 29th in the order. Well, Suarez ultimately left Trackhouse after 2025 and joined Spire Motorsports. After those clashes, the Las Vegas incident became one of their major one and Suarez after comparing Chastain to a “mad girlfriend” after the race, did give a statement.

“I mean, for some reason, our relationship has always been very weird, almost like it’s a little bit two-faced for some reason. And today, I actually saw what I thought he had in his mind for a while. But I mean, I don’t have any hard feelings toward anyone,” Suarez said. 

Meanwhile Chastain never really had anything deeply negative to say about Suarez, nor did he openly bash him. He didn’t like the way Suarez handled things, and the two simply did not see eye to eye. According to Chastain, that is not something worth making a big deal over.

“We got through the end of our time together when we were teammates, and I don’t think it’s bad that I don’t get along with everybody,” he said.

“Take it back to my childhood, and you’re taught to get along with everyone, but as you grow up and work in this big-time sport of NASCAR, you’re not, and that’s okay. I don’t agree with the way he handles things.”

That being said, Ross Chastain is no stranger to making enemies on the track. The Trackhouse Racing star has built a reputation as one of NASCAR’s most fiery personalities. Whether it was his tense exchange with Noah Gragson at Kansas in 2023 or his heated feud with three-time Cup champion Joey Logano during last year’s Chicago Street Race weekend, Chastain’s name often finds its way into controversy. 

But if you ask whether they are enemies, then the answer is not something even they have clarity on. “No, I didn’t know we were enemies, but I guess we were. I don’t know. But you know, you know, it’s just, it’s just what it is,” Suarez added.

Thankfully, following the Vegas saga, drama between Chastain and Suarez appears to have cooled down over the last few weeks. But a similar pattern could soon emerge for Suarez at Spire if Suarez’s relationship with his new teammate continues to head in the wrong direction, something that already seems to be happening.

Daniel Suarez’s Watkins Glen clash stuns Spire teammate

Carson Hocevar’s impressive 2026 Cup Series momentum hit an unexpected bump at Watkins Glen last weekend, and the frustration seemed to boil over because of his teammate, Suarez.

Coming off the buzz of his recent Met Gala appearance and Talladega victory, Hocevar looked sharp early in the race and appeared set for another solid points day, but things unravelled during an on-track battle with his teammate.

The incident came just 14 laps into the race when the 23-year-old and Suarez found themselves racing side-by-side in heavy traffic. Contact between the two sent Hocevar tumbling down and wiped out the strong track position he had built early in the event.

Furious over the radio moments later, the Michigan native did not hold back while reacting to the clash.

“I’m never letting Daniel go again,” Hocevar said. “He can go f— himself. He doesn’t have to run into me.”

The setback proved costly for Hocevar, who eventually limped home in 28th while Suarez recovered to finish 13th. The result also dropped the No.77 driver from 6th to 7th in the Cup Series standings.

Suarez, meanwhile, has quietly pieced together a strong comeback of his own and has been in the standings since the 14th, though notably, he chose not to publicly address the Watkins Glen incident afterward.