CONCORD, N.C. (Oct. 9, 2015) – Bubba Wallace, driver of the No. 6 Ford EcoBoost Ford Mustang, utilized a three-wide move on a late-race restart to record an eighth-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The finish marked Wallace’s eighth consecutive top-10 finish at 1.5 mile tracks, dating back to Las Vegas in March.
“It’s a good run for us,” said Wallace after the race. “It’s just getting towards the end of the season. I know we’re gonna win, but it’s just starting to set in. I’m proud of the effort from my team. We worked on it all night. We’ll take this and go get ‘em next week in Kansas.”
Wallace took the green flag for the 200-lap event from the ninth position after advancing to the final round of knockout qualifying on Friday afternoon. From the drop of the green flag, the rookie driver reported to crew chief Seth Barbour that the Ford EcoBoost Mustang was tight through the corner. After battling for several laps with Daniel Suarez, Wallace settled in to the 13th position before the first round of pit stops during a Lap 47 caution period.
Wallace maintained his top-15 track position on the ensuing restart and continued to race for position throughout the 80-plus lap green-flag run that followed. Continuing to fight a tight-handling condition, Wallace hit pit road during a Lap 146 caution for four tires and a chassis adjustment. Returning to the track in 13th, the driver of the Roush Fenway Ford made contact with the outside retaining wall while racing three-wide. An opportune caution three laps later gave Barbour and the team an opportunity to call Wallace back to pit road for repairs.
Once the repairs were made, Wallace took the Lap 156 restart from 13th and wasted little time moving forward, charging up the outside and into the ninth position by Lap 158. Wallace’s climb did not stop there as he moved into the eighth position just seven laps later.
In the closing stages, Wallace would battle with Roush Fenway Racing teammate Chris Buescher before crossing the finish line for the final time in the eighth position.
With the result, Wallace advances to fifth in the NASCAR XFINITY championship standings.
Next up for the NASCAR XFINITY Series is Kansas Speedway on Saturday, Oct. 17.
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NEXT UP:
1.5-Mile Kansas Speedway
Kansas City, Kansas
Sunday, Oct. 17, 2015
4:00 p.m. ET on NBCSN and MRN
RACE SUMMARY
Bubba Wallace
Started: Ninth
Finished: Eighth
Complete Race Results:
www.roushfenway.com
