LOUDON, N.H. (July 17, 2016) – Bubba Wallace, driver of the No. 6 AutoLotto Ford Mustang, was battling for position inside the top 10 when contact following a Lap 173 restart knocked the Roush Fenway driver sideways, causing damage to the left-rear of the car. Wallace returned to the track following the incident inside the top 15 and battled to 12th-place finish in the NASCAR XFINITY Series event on Saturday afternoon at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
“We didn’t get the finish we deserved,” said Wallace after the race. “We had our AutoLotto Mustang solidly in the top 10 there before that deal happened on the restart. I’m proud of all of my guys for their effort this weekend. We’ll get after it next week in Indy.”
Wallace took the green flag for the 200-Lap event from the 15th position after advancing to the second round of knockout qualifying on Saturday morning. From the drop of the green flag, Wallace reported to crew chief Seth Barbour that the AutoLotto Mustang was struggling to find forward drive on the exit of the corners. Although the handling issue persisted, Wallace drove his way into the top 10 and up to the seventh position just shy of the halfway point of the race.
Wallace continued to battle for position inside the top 10 for much of middle portion of the afternoon despite a tight-handling condition that grew increasingly worse throughout the course of a fuel run. Then, during a Lap 165 caution, crew chief Seth Barbour called the Roush Fenway driver to pit road for four tires and a chassis adjustment in the hopes of rectifying the handling condition.
Wallace took the ensuing restart on Lap 173 from the eighth position and was battling three-wide in the first corner when contact sent the AutoLotto Mustang up the track and sideways. As a result of the incident, Wallace was forced to come to pit road for repairs.
After surveying the damage on pit road, crew chief Barbour sent Wallace back out onto the track to take the Lap 181 restart from ninth.
In the closing stages, Wallace held on to bring the AutoLotto Ford home in the 12th position.
Next up for the NASCAR XFINITY Series is Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, July 23 at 4:00pm EST.
NEXT UP:
2.5-Mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Speedway, Indiana
Saturday, July 23, 2016
3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN and Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network
RACE SUMMARY
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> Bubba Wallace
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> Started: 15th
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> Finished: 12th
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> Complete Race Results:
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> www.roushfenway.com
