Daniel Suarez, who competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series for Trackhouse Racing, has been assessed a penalty by NASCAR following Sunday's event at Circuit of The Americas.
The Monterrey, Mexico-native has been hit with a monetary fine of $50,000 after it was determined the driver of the No. 99 intentionally caused damage to another vehicle on pit road.
Suarez, in the midst of his seventh season of competition at NASCAR's top-level, finished Sunday's event in 27th, after getting collected in multiple incidents over the course of three NASCAR Overtime restarts.
However, it was the contact entering pit road after Sunday's 75-lap event - first with Trackhouse teammate Ross Chastain, and then with Alex Bowman - that has landed him in hot water with the sanctioning body.
For Suarez, the displeasure regarding the situation at the end of the race comes as a result of the No. 99 team losing the opportunity to score a top-five result.
The 31-year-old driver is the first to be penalized to this extent for this specific infraction, after NASCAR chose to increase the potential penalties for intentionally damaging another vehicle on pit road, in February.
After the contact happened at the entry to the pits, Suarez got out of his car to have a conversation with his teammate Ross Chastain, which in the moment appeared to be slightly heated.
As of the time of publishing, neither Trackhouse Racing nor Daniel Suarez have released a statement regarding the penalties. Neither party has commented on if they'll appeal.
