CONCORD, N.C. (May 28, 2016) – Bubba Wallace, driver of the No. 6 LoudMouth Exhaust Ford Mustang, ran up front and led five laps before ultimately recording a 27th-place finish on Saturday afternoon in the NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The finish came after Wallace sustained damage to the right-rear of his Roush Fenway Ford from contact with the outside retaining wall.
“Today wasn’t how we hoped it would go,” said Wallace after the race. “I wish that we didn’t make contact with the wall there. We were able to lead some laps and run up front but that damage really hurt us. We’ll move on from this and go have some fun next weekend in Pocono.”
Wallace took the green flag for the scheduled 200-Lap event from the ninth position after advancing to the final round of knockout qualifying on Saturday morning. In the early stages of the race, Wallace reported to crew chief Seth Barbour that his LoudMouth Exhaust Ford was struggling to find front grip through the corners. Despite the handling condition, Wallace maintained his top-10 track position until a Lap 43 caution shuffled up the running order.
Wallace took the ensuing restart from the 22nd position and immediately charged forward, gaining seven positions before the caution came out once again on Lap 52. During this caution period, crew chief Barbour decided to utilize some strategy and kept Wallace out on the race track, giving the Roush Fenway driver the race lead.
Wallace held on to the top spot for five laps before drivers on fresher tires behind him prevailed, shuffling Wallace back to the third position before the caution came out once again on Lap 63. The driver of the LoudMouth Exhaust Ford maintained his track position following the Lap 71 restart, but contact with the outside retaining wall on Lap 77 forced Wallace to make an unscheduled green-flag pit stop.
The unscheduled stop cost Wallace several laps and valuable track position to the race leaders. However, Wallace refused to give up and improved nine positions throughout the remainder of the race to take the checkered flag in the 27th position.
Next up for the NASCAR XFINITY Series is Pocono Raceway on Saturday, June 4.
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NEXT UP:
2.5-Mile Pocono Raceway
Long Pond, Pennsylvania
Saturday, June 4, 2016
1:00 p.m. ET on FS1 and MRN
RACE SUMMARY
Bubba Wallace
Started: Ninth
Finished: 27th
Complete Race Results:
www.roushfenway.com
