Kevin Harvick addresses Chase Elliott, Daniel Suarez dust-up

Kevin Harvick addressed the drama between Chase Elliott and Daniel Suárez, which stems from an incident during the Grant Park 165 in Chicago, during the latest episode of his Harvick’s Happy Hour show.

For context, Elliott and Suárez got into it during the final laps of the race, and the former NASCAR Cup Series champion decided to show his displeasure with the No. 99. It’s evident the duo didn’t exactly agree on the incident either, as they got into it after the race, as well.

After seeing the replay of the incident, Harvick chalked it up to the Chicago Street Race being a more physical race than other dates on the Cup Series schedule, seeing how their actions could’ve rubbed each other the wrong way in the Windy City.

“It was a physical race,” Harvick stated. “You saw [Daniel] Suárez and Chase Elliott get mad at each other after the race. You know, the No. 9 shoved the No. 99 out of the way. I couldn’t tell if there was somebody behind him, shoving him into the No. 99, but the No. 99 didn’t like it, and totally knocked the No. 9 out of the way in the last corner, coming to the checkered flag. So, those races are physical.”

Alas, Elliott and Suárez weren’t the only drivers displeased with a peer on Sunday evening. It seems as if each Cup Series wheelman has a beef stemming from Chicago, and Suárez and Elliott will simply have to work it out with each other.

Kevin Harvick doesn’t believe it’ll be a lingering issue, but that’s up to Daniel Suárez and Chase Elliott to figure out, as the 2024 NASCAR campaign rages on.

Chase Elliott top-20 streak comes to an end after late contact from Daniel Suárez in Chicago

Moreover, Chase Elliott failed to finish in the top-20 for the first time this season, in part because of the contact he made with Daniel Suárez. It all was going well until the final lap at Chicago. After late contact from the No. 99, the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion had to settle for P21. 

The top-20 streak was a point of pride for this No. 9 team. Elliott started out the season ticking away those finishes. Then it culminated in top-10s and top-5s. Of course, there is the big victory at Texas, too. 

Like all good things, this too had to come to an end. Suárez made contact with Elliott on the last lap of the Chicago Street Race. Both drivers were firmly in the top-15 at the time. Elliott spun around and salvaged a P21 result.

The fact that Chase Elliott was able to almost sneak back into the top-20 should tell you how well he does on this race track. He wasn’t fantastic but he was able to move up. His tire strategy wasn’t as strong as others either because of his track position, but he was going to make it work. 

Then, he got turned around. Elliott and Suárez traded blows on the track. Suárez ended up putting too much oomph into his hit on the 9 car. 

Both of these drivers have a win on the season. They both want to build momentum heading into the playoffs. So, there is going to be hard-nosed driving. The 99 just got a little too jazzed up on that final lap.

On3’s Jonathan Howard contributed to this article.