Daniel Suárez will not go to rear of South Point 400 after engine issues at Las Vegas

Turns out, even after making a small fix to the engine, Daniel Suárez and the No. 99 team will not go to the rear of the field. Suárez will retain his P23 starting position that he earned in NASCAR Cup Series qualifying.

Yesterday, Daniel Suárez himself posted about how his team would drop to the rear. He described the problem as “an issue with a component of our engine.” Turns out, NASCAR lets you fix that component without penalty.

Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports reported on the decision. This will be a big difference between being in the middle of the pack versus the very rear.

Suarez will not have to drop to the rear today for the work for the engine.

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) October 20, 2024

Daniel Suárez was eliminated from the NASCAR Playoffs after the Roval. He made it to the Round of 12 this season. While there have been highlights this season for the 99 team, there have been a lot of forgettable performances as well.

Trackhouse Racing now has zero teams in the playoffs. However, Ross Chastain appears poised to play spoiler once again. He qualified P6 and has a fast Chevy Camaro this week for the Las Vegas playoff race.

This is a break for the 99 team. Make no mistake about it. The only other car going to the rear is Ryan Blaney, who is still in the playoffs. He is in a backup car and won’t have the most fun Sunday in Vegas, I think.

Now Suárez avoids that situation and has a repaired engine. Win-win for that team, huh?

Daniel Suárez was convinced he would be penalized

It looked like bad news for Daniel Suárez and his Trackhouse Racing team. An issue with the engine was set to have the 99 car starting in the rear today. Suárez was P23 in qualifying before fixing the issue.

Daniel Suárez and the 99 team were eliminated from the NASCAR Playoffs last week at the Roval. However, he is still looking to add a win or two to his record this season.

“Excited to have [Tooties] on board with us again this weekend! Unfortunately, our team found an issue with a component of our engine that will send us to the rear for tomorrow’s race,” Suárez posted. “With that being said I got a good feeling in practice so we’ll be ready to pass some cars and make our way up front.”

When you make repairs, that usually means going to the rear. However, there are certain repairs that can be made without penalty. Those usually have something to do with safety or minor cosmetic repairs, such as fixing a damaged wrap on a car.

Daniel Suárez lucked out this week, will he make the most of it?