Races August 26, 2024 Only Darlington Left in the Regular Season. Date: Aug. 24th, 2024 Event: Coke Zero Sugar 400 (Round 25 of 36) Series: NASCAR Cup Series Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval) Format: 160 laps, broken into three stages (35 laps/60 laps/65 laps) Start/Finish: 22nd / 40th (Fire, completed 37 of 165 laps) Point Standing: 17th with 527 points Notes: Trackhouse Racing driver Daniel Suárez saw his night end in flames and a 40th-place finish Saturday night in the 400-mile NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Suárez saw his night end on lap 36 during a pit stop during the first stage break. As he maneuvered around a car blocking him in the pits, Denny Hamlin’s car backfired, igniting spilled fuel in Suárez’s pit stall. The flames engulfed the back of Suárez’s car. He drove the car around the track hoping to extinguish the fire, but it flared as he returned to pit lane forcing Suárez out of the car and the race. Harrison Burton became the 13th different winner of the 2024 season leap-frogging Chastain and other non-winners in the playoff battle. The NASCAR Cup Series heads to the final regular season race Sunday at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. Daniel Suárez, driver of the No. 99 Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Chevrolet Camaro for Trackhouse Racing: “I was doing my pit stop just like every single weekend. The No. 11 (Denny Hamlin) was right behind me and the No. 21 (Harrison Burton) was right in front of me, so unfortunately I got boxed in. We know that every single time we do a pit stop, we drop a little bit of fuel and that’s completely normal. Unfortunately, the No. 11 was leaving his pit stall right behind me, and because he was waiting for me to leave, his exhaust fired up the little fuel I dropped. Because I was still parked there, that went up the back of my car where the fuel cell is and it just grabbed it. It was a very unfortunate situation. I don’t know what we could have done differently. Just sad that we’re out of the race this way, but I’m glad I’m fine and the entire team was fine. The other crazy thing is that I was able to feel the heat, but because I don’t run a rearview mirror and only run the rearview camera, I couldn’t see it. The rearview camera is connected to the rear bumper, so I could see the smoke, but I couldn’t see the fire. I could feel the heat, but I couldn’t see how big it was.”
