HOMESTEAD, Fla. (Nov. 15, 2014) – Trevor Bayne, driver of the No. 6 AdvoCare Ford Mustang, passed nine cars and survived a green-white-checkered restart in the closing laps to earn an 11th-place finish in the 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
“This AdvoCare Ford was awesome tonight,” said Bayne after the race. “We were able to really fly around the high line throughout the night and it was great getting to lead some laps. I really hate that we had that tire go down after hitting the wall. We had a top-five car before that, but I am really proud of the effort (crew chief) Chad (Norris) and everyone on this team gave. We never gave up and were able to rebound from those issues to get an 11th-place finish.”
Bayne began the 200-lap season finale event from the 13th position and wasted little time moving forward, working his way into the top 10 just prior to the first caution coming out on lap 33. After pitting for four tires and a chassis adjustment to correct a loose-handling condition, Bayne would return to the track in the 15th position.
The driver of the No. 6 AdvoCare Ford Mustang would only need six laps following the restart to rejoin the top-10. He would continue his march toward the front from there as he was able to move into the sixth position on Lap 69 and into the top five for the first time following a Lap 75 caution.
Bayne would maintain his position inside the top five throughout the ensuing green flag run, working his way up to third before the caution came out once again on Lap 119. While under caution, crew chief Chad Norris called the driver of the AdvoCare Ford to pit road for four tires and an air pressure adjustment. Entering the pits in third, Bayne would leave in first after a stellar stop by the AdvoCare pit crew.
Bayne would go on to battle with Kyle Larson and Matt Kenseth on the ensuing restart and ultimately settle into the third position. As the laps began to wind down the handling of the AdvoCare Ford began to worsen as Bayne reported to crew chief Norris that the car was the loosest it had been all night long on Lap 164. Then, while swapping the sixth position back and forth with Regan Smith, Bayne made contact with the outside retaining wall off of Turn 4 that ultimately led to a caution and an unscheduled pit stop for a flat tire.
Returning to the track in 19th, Bayne was able to work his way back into the top 15 before again making contact with the outside wall on Lap 180. With the damage more severe, Bayne would return to pit road for repairs during a Lap 185 caution.
In the closing stages, Bayne was able to overcome a rash of cautions and a green-white-checker finish to improve nine positions in the final seven laps to take the checkered flag in the 11th position.
#
RACE SUMMARY
Trevor Bayne
Started: 13th
Finished: 11th
Complete Race Results:
www.roushfenway.com
POINTS SUMMARY – Trevor Bayne:
2014: Sixth in the championship standings
Total Points: 1,086
2014 SEASON SUMMARY
Trevor Bayne
Starts Wins Top-Fives Top-10s Poles
33 0 5 21 1
