Ross Chastain apologizes to Daniel Suárez after Sonoma scuffle

Last week at Sonoma, Trackhouse Racing had a bit of friendly fire between drivers Ross Chastain and Daniel Suárez. It became a talking point as Suárez vowed retaliation, though it never happened. It’s no secret that the 99 car is getting a new driver next NASCAR season.

As longtime teammates and friends, Ross Chastain and Daniel Suárez don’t appear to be harboring any harsh feelings. Chastain understands why his teammate would be frustrated. He got spun out and lost a ton of track position.

“It is just conversations,” Chastain said, via NASCAR.com, “and I’m not gonna let one bad instance get in the way of a lot of good times. One bad time is not gonna affect that for me, and Daniel and I’s relationship will survive.

“I wrecked him, I mean, he should be upset, that team should be upset. So, I went to the crew chief and him, and wanted them to make sure they knew that they knew. I wanted to make sure that, like, it was the last thing I wanted to do. And for the first half of the brake zone, I thought I was fine. And then the second half of the brake zone, I realized I’m going too fast, and I should have reacted better, and I didn’t. So, that’s just a non-negotiable to wrecking, spinning teammates out. We had conversations this week.”

Ross Chastain is an aggressive driver. That means mistakes happen. He blew through the braking zone, and his teammate paid the price. That’s just what happened. No changing it, but you can make amends.

Ross Chastain getting new teammate in 2026

Trackhouse Racing and Daniel Suárez have already made it official, the driver won’t return to the 99 car in 2026. While it hasn’t been confirmed yet, Connor Zilisch is the favorite to take over that ride, whether the number changes or not remains to be seen.

Shane van Gisbergen is here to stay. He has three wins to his name this season alone. He is a lock for the playoffs in the win-and-in system. Zilisch fills that same role, but with additional talent and time to develop his skills on the ovals. Honestly, at this point, his oval racing isn’t far off from his road course racing.

Things will look different for Trackhouse Racing next season. Ross Chastain remains the face of the organization for the foreseeable future. They have massive sponsors like Busch Light, WeatherTech, and Red Bull. Things look good for Trackhouse right now as they transition in a post-Suárez era.