Team: No. 6 Performance Plus Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Matt Puccia
Twitter: @Roush6Team, @RoushFenway and @TBayne6
Coke Zero Sugar 400 – Saturday, July 7 at 7 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN
ADVANCE NOTES
Bayne at Daytona International Speedway
· Trevor Bayne returns to the site of his first career NASCAR victory, Daytona International Speedway, a track where he pulled off one of the biggest upsets in sports history seven years ago winning the 2011 Daytona 500.
· Bayne makes his 16th MENCS start at the famed 2.5-mile superspeedway where he has four top-10 and two top-five finishes. The now 27-year-old has finished 13th or better in three of the last four Daytona races with two top-10s in the last three July events.
· Dating back to 2015, Bayne’s average finish in the July Daytona race is 11.7, including a ninth-place result in 2015, third in 2016, and 23rd a year ago. The 2015 July race also saw Bayne start from the fifth position, his best in the past six Daytona races, with his best starting spot coming in his first-ever July Cup race, where he started on the outside of the front row for The Wood Brothers.
· In nine starts in Xfinity series action at Daytona, Bayne recorded one top-five (third in 2014) and four top-10 finishes. He crossed the line ninth in his last Xfinity race there in 2014 after starting second, one of three instances where he qualified front row (2nd in 2012, pole in 2013 – February).
· In 43 combined starts at restrictor plate tracks across the MENCS and Xfinity Series, Bayne has one win, four top-five and 13 top-10 results.
Matt Puccia at Daytona International Speedway
· Matt Puccia will call his 14th race at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, and sixth at the 2.5-mile superspeedway with Bayne. In 13 starts as a crew chief, Puccia has an average finish of 14.7.
· Puccia has recorded two top-five and six top-10 finishes at Daytona, including two third-place results – one with Greg Biffle in 2012 and one with Bayne in 2016.
QUOTE WORTHY
Bayne on racing at Daytona:
“It’s always special to roll into Daytona given our success there over the years. We’ve consistently had really good speed at restrictor-plate tracks and I’m confident that we will unload another fast Performance Plus Ford Fusion again this weekend. We’re looking forward to continued improvement on the car and can’t wait to get to Daytona.”
Recapping Chicago
Bayne was on his way to solid finish at Chicagoland before a speeding penalty and eventual flat tire cost him an unscheduled pit stop, which led to a 26th-place result Sunday afternoon.
On The Car
Bayne will run the black and yellow colors of Performance Plus this weekend at Daytona. Performance Plus is currently in its third season as a primary partner in the MENCS for Roush Fenway. They spent one year with Greg Biffle on the No. 16 entry before switching over to Trevor Bayne on the No. 6.
