Kasey Kahne and Daniel Suarez’s day ended on Lap 140 of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 when the two collided in Turn 2 at Michigan International Speedway.
Kahne was making a pass underneath Suarez in Turn 1 when he drifted up into Suarez’s path. Because he hadn’t cleared Suarez, he came across his nose, slid up the track and slammed the outside wall in Turn 2. Suarez, who was pushed up the track from the contact, partially submarined underneath the left-rear side of Kahne’s car, dealing terminal damage to his car.
His car about spun out, before stabilizing and drifted down towards the apron. Kahne’s car, meanwhile, clung near the wall for a few more seconds, before the back-end came out from underneath him and sent him down onto the apron, where he came to rest.
“We had to fight from the back and had a good Liftmaster Chevrolet. We kept working to get up there. Daniel (Suarez) was going backwards and I was going by and I ran the bottom,” Kahne said. “I expected we could be close off the corner, and I was just coming off and then we hit. So, I don’t know. I expected to run side-by-side down the backstretch, but not give a lot of room, because you don’t. Nobody does. But I was making the pass and I don’t know how we hit. Ruined it. It’s over.”
“I was very, very tight. I was trying to hold my line. I think the 5 was passing me (and) went up a little bit too soon for me. I was trying to leave him some room. I (got) out of the throttle at that point, but I don’t know if he was told it was already time to go up. I don’t know. It’s just unfortunate because we came from a streak of top-fives and now this is going to be the end of it. We’re going to regroup and come back stronger next week.”
While the wreck doesn’t affect Kahne’s playoff chances, as he has a win at Indianapolis to fallback on, it doesn’t help Suarez, who’s now 17th in points and 139 behind Matt Kenseth in the cutoff spot.
