KANSAS CITY, Kan. (Oct. 16, 2016) – Trevor Bayne, driver of the No. 6 AdvoCare Ford Fusion, earned a 17th-place finish in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) event at Kansas Speedway on Sunday afternoon.
“This car was one of the best handling cars I have had all season,” said Bayne after the race. “We were able to get up there and race in the top 10 and run competitively. It’s unfortunate that we made contact with the wall going into the corner, that really affected the handling of our AdvoCare Ford. But I’m happy we were able to overcome that and bounce back to get a decent finish. We’ll brush this off and go for the win next week in Talladega.”
Bayne took the green flag for the 267-Lap event on Sunday afternoon from the 25th position and immediately charged forward, moving into the top 20 and up to 19th before the first caution of the day came out on Lap 26. Bayne took the ensuing restart from the 21st position and reported to crew chief Matt Puccia that the AdvoCare Ford tight rolling through the center to the exit of the corner.
This handling condition persisted throughout the long green-flag run that followed before Puccia decided to call Bayne to pit road under green on Lap 84. The Knoxville, Tenn. native returned to the track in 20th and maintained his track position until a caution on Lap 120 gave Puccia another opportunity to make adjustments to the AdvoCare Ford.
Bayne took the Lap 120 restart from the 19th position but raced his way into the top 15 before the caution came out once again on Lap 176. Puccia utilized this caution to bring the AdvoCare Ford back down pit road for four tires and another round of chassis adjustments. An opportune caution just six laps later gave Puccia the chance to make a strategy call as he brought Bayne back down pit road for just right-side tires.
This call paid off as Bayne restarted from the ninth position but used a four-wide move to race into sixth on Lap 200. Bayne continued to fight for position in the top 10 before contact with both the outside retaining wall and another car damaged the nose and right-side of the AdvoCare Ford. After pitting for repairs during a caution on Lap 220 Bayne reported that the handling had shifted over to the loose side.
In the closing stages, Bayne overcame the damage to the AdvoCare Ford to record a 17th-place finish.
Next up for the NSCS in Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, Oct. 23.
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NEXT UP:
2.66-Mile Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega, Alabama
Sunday, October 23, 2016
2:00 p.m. ET on NBCSN and MRN
RACE SUMMARY
Trevor Bayne
Started: 25th
Finished: 17th
Complete Race Results:
www.roushfenway.com
