Of all the NASCAR drivers we might have guessed would be involved in the first physical fight of the 2019 season, Daniel Suárez was definitely toward the bottom of the list.
But the No. 41 Ford driver became so frustrated during last weekend’s qualifying with Michael McDowell that he confronted him, and things got physical. Video captured Suárez walking over to McDowell, briefly exchanging words and then Suárez throwing McDowell to the ground. Everything about the incident was unexpected, from a brawl at qualifying to Suárez’s takedown.
“I have a little of me that is like a switch,” Suárez told NBC Sports this week. “I just fire up really quick, but I have to get there.”
He also recently joked that he’s watched the video of the fight “many times” in the days following the incident.
Of course, some in the NASCAR world wondered if Tony Stewart is rubbing off a little on the first-year Stewart-Haas Racing driver. During his racing days, Stewart’s hot temper was often on display, and he was known to fight fellow drivers, as well as fans.
So NBC Sports’ Dave Burns asked Suárez if Stewart’s passion has encouraged him to be more bold or expressive. The 27-year-old driver said:
“I feel like I’ve been that way my entire life and my entire career. Maybe some people don’t really know me that well or that way. But not a lot of people really know the amount of work, the amount of time (and) dedication that not just myself but a lot of people, a lot of engineers, a lot (put) into these race cars to go out there and perform well. You have a plan, and then you try to follow that plan. And when things don’t go as planned for circumstances that you can’t control, you get disappointed, right?
“But when things move away from the plan because (of) someone else, you’re going to get mad or disappointed. And we all in the Cup Series, we are very passionate. That’s why we’re there. And sometimes things get a little bit out of control, but that’s part of racing sometimes. You just have to let people know that they have to respect the way you think, and if you are giving respect, at least myself, I’m expecting that respect back. And if I don’t get that, that will be something that I won’t like.”
Elaborating on what Suárez said after Friday’s incident at ISM Raceway near Phoenix, he felt McDowell was in his way during the first round of qualifying after Suárez waited until the end to hit the track. McDowell then accused Suárez of retaliating against him on the track as neither of them survived the first round.
Suárez said he felt he needed “to settle things up” with McDowell after feeling like he was slighted. When asked if he thinks the fight impacted the amount of respect he receives from the other drivers, Suárez said:
“I don’t really care if I gained respect or not. That’s who I am, and that’s my personality. Like I said during the weekend, I’m pretty sure that you can ask any driver out there, and they’re going to tell you that I have a lot of respect for people but always expecting the same respect back.
“If somebody doesn’t give me that respect back or either I (don’t) give that respect, we’re going to have conflicts at times.”
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