DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 2, 2016) – Bubba Wallace, driver of the No. 6 LoudMouth Exhaust Ford Mustang, overcame a 14-car incident on Lap 14 to race his way into the top five before a multi-car incident on the final lap relegated the Roush Fenway Racing driver to a 20th-place finish in the NASCAR XFINITY Series event at Daytona International Speedway on Friday night.
“I’m really proud of all of my guys on this LoudMouth Exhaust team,” said Wallace after the race. “We made an incredible comeback after getting involved in that deal early in the race. We worked and worked and worked and were in position at the end to try and go for the win. Unfortunately we had nowhere to go on the backstretch there on the last lap which is a shame because we didn’t get the finish we deserved, but we’ll move on and get after it in Kentucky.”
Wallace began the scheduled 100-lap event from the sixth position and quickly drafted his way into the top three by utilizing the outside line. Then, while leading the outside line and battling for position inside the top five, Wallace and the No. 48 of Brennan Poole made contact that knocked the Roush Fenway driver sideways, damaging the left-side of the LoudMouth Exhaust Ford.
Due to the extent of the damage Wallace lost a lap to the race leaders as repairs were being made on pit road during the caution. Despite being a lap down, Wallace never gave up and raced his way back onto the lead lap via the free pass following a Lap 40 caution period.
Once back on the lead lap, Wallace charged forward, racing back into the top 15 following a Lap 53 restart and up to the 12th position before the caution came out once again on Lap 66. While under caution, crew chief Seth Barbour decided to make a strategy call and kept Wallace on the racetrack, placing the LoudMouth Exhaust Ford in the second position for the ensuing restart.
Wallace maintained his top-five track position throughout the closing stages of the race until the caution came out with four laps remaining, setting up NASCAR’s version of overtime.
Wallace took the overtime restart from the fifth position but was shuffled to the outside without much drafting help as the field took the white flag. Then, while trying to draft his way forward off of the second corner, several of the race leaders made contact triggering a multi-car incident on the back straightaway that ultimately left Wallace with nowhere to go, sending him spinning through the infield.
In the end, Wallace was able to limp the badly damage LoudMouth Exhaust Ford home with a 20th-place finish.
Next up for the NASCAR XFINITY Series is Kentucky Speedway on Friday, July 8 at 8:30pm EST.
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NEXT UP:
1.5-Mile Kentucky Speedway
Sparta, Kentucky
Friday, July 8, 2016
8:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN and PRN
RACE SUMMARY
Bubba Wallace
Started: Sixth
Finished: 20th
Complete Race Results:
www.roushfenway.com
