On Friday, NASCAR drivers were racing for track position for Sunday’s TicketGuardian 500 race, but there was a bit more action than expected thanks to a kerfuffle between drivers Daniel Suarez and Michael McDowell.
Track position is determined by lap time during group qualifying sessions, and a fast time during qualifying can be hugely advantageous for the race on Sunday. However, Suarez and McDowell both felt as if the other was getting in their way during qualifying — a bit of a no-no in the sport — and things boiled over on pit road.
That’s not a bad kerfuffle at all! Dude hopped a wall and there was some good tussling going on, until several other crew members were able to break things up. At one point, it looks like McDowell is trying to pull Suarez off his car while he’s being pinned, but it really just looks like he’s pulling the guy’s shoe off.
Suarez, the instigator, shared his perspective of how things unfolded on the track. He was unhappy with McDowell getting in the way of his “hot lap,” and felt it was disrespectful.
Suarez qualified 28th, while McDowell will start 27th on Sunday. Spicy!
h/t Twitter/NASCAR
