Daniel Suarez during driver introductions for the Pennzoil 400. (Photo: Justin Sheldon | The Podium Finish)
LAS VEGAS — After a frustrating result a week ago, Daniel Suarez scored a crucial second-place finish in the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
During the pit stop cycle under caution following the conclusion of Stage 2, crew chief Matt Swiderski elected for a two-tire call, resulting in Suarez winning the battle off pit road and restarting in third place. This gave Suarez that track position he needed to stay up front and battle for the win.
With the laps winding down, Noah Gragson cut a right front tire and hit the wall, bringing out a caution. This brought all the leaders down pit road and Suarez’s No. 99 team had a blazing pit stop, winning him the race out of the pits.
The race went back green on Lap 249 with Suarez and Josh Berry on the front row. The two raced side-by-side for multiple laps, even making contact before Berry cleared Suarez on Lap 254 and went on to win his first career NASCAR Cup Series race.
Daniel Suarez (No. 99) with Josh Berry (No. 21) lined up to his outside on the final restart of the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Photo: Justin Sheldon | The Podium Finish)
“Definitely a little disappointed,” Suarez said post-race. “Congratulations to the (No.) 21 team and Josh (Berry), they did a great job. They’ve been in contention so congratulations to them.”
Despite not being able to hang on for the win, the second-place finish is an important result for Suarez, who entered Las Vegas in 29th place in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings and had a previous best finish of 13th on the season though the first four races. He believed that his team did everything right to win the race but just needed a little bit more pace on the final short run of the race.
“We did everything right. The team did an amazing job on the strategy and pit stops. We did everything right,” said Suarez. “Our car was fast. We just struggled a little bit in the short run.”
Before the final restart, Suarez mentioned telling his crew chief Swiderski that he needed to be a little bit better on the short run to win the race but thought that even with the changes, the contact between him and Berry while racing for the lead killed his shot at the win.
“I was having too much contact (with Berry) over there in (Turns) 1 and 2,” he said. “Unfortunately, I feel like that’s why we lost the race. Just a little bit too much contact and I mean, I almost wrecked in (Turns) 1 and 2.”
Daniel Suarez (No. 99) leading the Pennzoil 400 with Josh Berry (No. 21) and teammate Ross Chastain (No. 1) close behind. (Photo: Justin Sheldon | The Podium Finish)
The finish will also help take the bad taste out of Suarez’s mouth following the tough result at Phoenix Raceway last weekend, where he was running in the sixth position when Katherine Legge spun out in front of him, leaving nowhere for Suarez to go and ending his shot at a top 10 run.
Finishing in second place is also a result that Suarez and everyone on his No. 99 team has been searching for since the start of the 2025 season and helps carry some momentum into next weekend’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
“Overall, just very proud of everyone at Trackhouse (Racing),” said Suarez. “We’ve been working very hard and it’s showing. It was a solid effort.”
