DOVER, Del. (Oct. 1, 2017) – Trevor Bayne, driver of the No. 6 Ford EcoBoost Ford Fusion, recorded a 24th-place finish in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) event at Dover International Speedway.
“Today was a battle,” said Bayne after the race. “I just want to thank all my guys on this Roush Fenway team for their work this weekend. We will move on from today and get ready for some racing at home this week in Charlotte.”
Bayne took the green flag for the 400-Lap event from the 20th position but immediately reported to crew chief Matt Puccia that the Ford EcoBoost Ford was tight rolling through the corner. Puccia called Bayne to pit road in the hopes of alleviating the handling condition during the first round of green flag pit stops on Lap 82. However, an inopportune caution just four laps later trapped Bayne off of the lead lap and relegated the Roush Fenway Racing driver to a 28th-place result at the completion of Stage 1 on Lap 120.
Puccia decided to make a strategy call prior to the beginning of Stage 2 and told Bayne to take the wave around to get back on the lead lap while the leaders came to pit road. As a result of the call, the Knoxville, Tenn. native took the ensuing restart on Lap 127 from 27th but quickly drove back into the top 25 and up to 23rd before a Lap 167 caution provided another opportunity for Bayne to hit pit road for adjustments. Returning to the track in 23rd, the driver of the Ford EcoBoost Ford continued to fight for position in the top 25 for the remainder of the stage, ultimately taking the green and checkered flag in the 22nd position.
The third and final stage began with the 2011 Daytona 500 Champion continuing to fight a tight-handling condition that was affecting his forward drive through the corner. Despite not handling to his liking, Bayne pressed forward and improved three positions in the closing laps to take the checkered flag in the 24th position.
Next up for the MENCS is Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday, Oct. 8.
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NEXT UP:
1.5-Mile Charlotte Motor Speedway
Concord, North Carolina
Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017
2:00pm EST on NBC, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90
RACE SUMMARY
Trevor Bayne
Started: 20th
Finished: 24th
Complete Race Results:
www.roushfenway.com
