Nations Guard Chevrolet Struggled with Balance and Radio All Race

Date: April 19^th, 2026

Event: Advent Health 400 (Round 9 of 36)

Series: NASCAR Cup Series

Location: Kansas Speedway in Kansas City (1.5-mile oval)

Format: 267 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/85 laps/102 laps)

Start/Finish: 8th / 19th (running, completed 274 of 274 laps)

Point Standing: 16^th with 210 points

Notes:

• Daniel Suárez, driver of the No. 7 NationsGuard Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Spire Motorsports, battled communication issues for much of the race but overcame the adversity to finish 19th in Sunday’s Advent Health 400 at Kansas Speedway. He earned his seventh top-20 finish of the season through nine races.
• Suárez started eighth, but reported early on that he was struggling to hear his spotter and crew chief throughout Stage 1 due to radio issues. On Lap 37, crew chief Ryan Sparks called him to pit road for a scheduled green-flag stop and the 34-year-old driver rejoined the field in 16th. Suárez went on to finish Stage 1 in 18th, and received a new radio during the stage break before lining up 20th for Stage 2.
• As the second stage got underway, Suárez continued to deal with communication challenges and briefly went a lap down before returning to the lead lap as the second round of green-flag pit cycles played out. Later he again fell a lap down on Lap 157, but was the first car one lap down at the conclusion of Stage 2 and was awarded the free pass.
• Suárez brought the NationsGuard Chevy to pit road for additional adjustments and rejoined the field in 20th to begin the Final Stage. With 60 laps remaining, the Monterrey, Mexico native reported a lack of overall grip and pitted on Lap 223 for fresh tires and cycled out in the 20th position, one lap down. A caution flag waved with two laps remaining, sending the race into NASCAR Overtime and allowing Suárez to take the wavearound to rejoin the lead lap. Despite the setbacks, Suárez managed his equipment and continued to fight, ultimately securing a 19th-place result following a green-white-checkered finish.

Daniel Suárez, driver of the No. 7 Nations Guard Chevrolet Camaro for Spire Motorsports:

“Definitely a challenging race for us. Not being able to communicate clearly for a good part of the day made things really difficult, especially with how important adjustments are here. We lost some track position because of that, but the No. 7 NationsGuard Chevy team did a great job staying focused and never giving up. Once we got the radio situation a bit better, we were able to settle in and just try to make the most of it. It’s not the finish we’re looking for, but we kept fighting, and that’s something to build on.”