SPARTA, Ky. (July 8, 2017) – Trevor Bayne, driver of the No. 6 Roush Performance Products Ford Fusion, battled inside the top 15 for much of the early portion of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) event at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday night, driving up to as high as the 11th position following a Lap 92 restart. However, contact with the No. 5 car on Lap 94 sent the Roush Fenway Racing Ford into the outside retaining wall, severely damaging the right rear and ultimately ending Bayne’s night early. Bayne is scored with a 37th-place finish.
“I hate that that happened,” said Bayne after the race. ”We were making our way forward with our Roush Performance Products Ford and were knocking on the door of the top-10 before we got all that damage. I hate that we won’t get the result we deserve but we will recover and rebound. This team never gives up and we will get after it again next week in New Hampshire.”
Bayne took the green flag for the 267-Lap event from the 19th position after advancing to the second round of qualifying on Friday afternoon. The driver of the Roush Performance Products Ford battled a tight-handling condition for much of the first run but maintained his track position inside the top 20 until the competition caution came out on Lap 30. After pitting for four tires and a chassis adjustment, Bayne returned to the track in the 21st position.
When the race restarted on Lap 35 Bayne charged forward, improving five positions to 16th before the Roush Performance Products Ford once again shifted toward the tight side on the exit of the corners. Despite not handling to his liking, Bayne continued to fight for position before taking the green and checkered flag for Stage 1 in the 17th position.
When Stage 2 went green on Lap 87 Bayne narrowly avoided a multi-car incident in the third and fourth corner, moving the Roush Fenway driver into the top 15 and up to 12th. Bayne wasted little time moving forward when the race went back green on Lap 92, utilizing the outside line to move into 11th. Unfortunately, contact with the No. 5 just two laps later on Lap 94 sent Bayne into the wall, severely damaging the rear of the Roush Performance Products Ford.
Crew chief Matt Puccia called the Roush Fenway driver to pit road several times for repairs before sending Bayne back out onto the track on Lap 107 in the hopes of regaining any track position that could be available. After running four laps, Bayne got loose and lost control coming out of the fourth corner, sending him on a long slide. Bayne ultimately took the car behind the wall where the damage was deemed too severe to continue.
In the end, Bayne is scored with a 37th-place finish.
Next up for the MENCS is New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 16.
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NEXT UP:
1.058-Mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Loudon, New Hampshire
Sunday, July 16, 2017
3:00pm EST on NBCSN, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90
RACE SUMMARY
Trevor Bayne
Started: 19th
Finished: 37th
Complete Race Results:
