Promising Run Ends Early For Bayne In Michigan

Trevor Bayne, driver of the No.6 AdvoCare Ford Mustang finished Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race at Michigan International Speedway in the 30thposition after retiring from the 125-Lap event early following damage sustained from an incident just past halfway.

“That finish wasn’t what we were looking for today,” said Bayne after the race. “We had an awesome car yesterday in practice and were having a lot of fun racing our way up towards the front today. In the end there wasn’t much we could do about what happened out there. We just have to keep our heads up and get our No.6 AdvoCare Ford ready to turn right and left next weekend in Road America.”

Bayne took the green flag from the 14th position and immediately began to make his way towards the front, cracking the top-10 for the first time on Lap 10. Reporting a loose condition early, Bayne hovered around the 10th position before pitting for four-tires and adjustments during the first round of green-flag pit stops on Lap 40. After returning to the track in 11th, Bayne would battle with Sam Hornish, Jr. and teammate Chris Buescher until a Lap 51 caution for debris saw the driver of the No.6 AdvoCare Ford Mustang return to pit road for adjustments.   

Bayne would return to the track in the 16th position following the pit stop and used a Lap 56 restart to catapult his way into 12th. Bayne would remain in 12th until a Lap 66 caution for debris saw crew chief Chad Norris utilize a fuel-only strategy to help gain track position going into the second-half of the race.

On the ensuing restart, Bayne would improve to the eighth position before contact with another car on Lap 78 sent the No.6 Ford into the outside retaining wall in the middle of Turns 1 and 2. The damage from the contact with the wall was severe enough that Bayne had to take the AdvoCare Mustang behind the wall for repairs. After briefly returning to the track to earn some valuable championship points, Bayne was scored with a 30th-place finish.

RFR PR