“That’s why we lost the race”: Daniel Suarez comes clean after crushing Las Vegas defeat to Josh Berry

Daniel Suarez spoke his mind after a heartbreaking defeat against Wood Brothers Racing rival Josh Berry. The #99 Trackhouse Racing driver dominated 12 laps at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway but because of struggles in turns 1 and 2, Suarez gradually lost the lead to the #21 Ford Mustang.

NASCAR's fifth race weekend witnessed Berry claim his career-first Cup Series win and WBR's 101st. The family-owned organization's most recent victory before the Pennzoil 400 was in the 2024 Coke Zero Sugar 400, where Harrison Burton reigned supreme at the Daytona International Speedway.

Suarez looked primed for his maiden win of this season, courtesy of the #99 crew's remarkable pitstops—sending the Mexican driver first off the pit road twice -on Lap 169 and 245. The Lap 245 pitstop helped Suarez take charge of the pack on Lap 249, leaving Berry chasing for the lead.

However, Lap 252 proved disastrous for the #99 Chevrolet driver. He got loose in Turn 2 allowing the WBR rival to pin his #21 Ford to the inside. With Suarez's continued short-run struggles in turns 1 and 2, Berry gradually closed in, taking the lead on Lap 254. From there, he held the charge and crossed the finish line 1.35 seconds ahead of the Trackhouse rival.

Daniel Suarez was pleased by his performance and praised the team's "amazing" job. However, he voiced his concern about where he "lost the race."

"We did everything right, you know? The team did an amazing job on the strategy, pit stops. We did everything right. Our car was fast. We just struggle a little bit in the short run. I mention to my crew chief just a little bit ago, before the last run, I told him, Hey, we want to be up front, I need a little bit better short run. I am having too much contact in one and two. Unfortunately, I feel like that’s why we lost the race, just a little bit too much contact. I mean, I almost wrecked in one and two," Daniel Suarez said via NASCAR (0:20).

Suarez's second-place finish in Las Vegas has moved him up 10 spots on the leaderboard ladder. He will enter the next race at Homestead-Miami Speedway ranked 19th.

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Josh Berry opens up about his late-race battle with Daniel Suarez

After a disastrous start to the season, Josh Berry turned the tide around with his noteworthy performance. Following the brunt of two consecutive DNFs -in the Daytona 500 and the Atlanta race, Berry completed his first race of the season at the Circuit of the Americas.

During the season's fourth race weekend, the #21 Ford driver posted Wood Brothers Racing's first top-5 at the Phoenix Raceway, since the organization's inception. His dominant form continued in Las Vegas. Berry led 18 laps and braved the fierce late-race battle against Daniel Suarez to post his first Cup win.

"Such a battle with Daniel there at the end. Whoever was going to get out front was probably going to win. We were able to get in front, Berry told Fox Sports post-race.”

Josh Berry has jumped eight places in the Cup Series standings, ranked 13th.