Bayne Rallies for 29th-Place Finish in Fontana

Trevor Bayne drove his No. 6 AdvoCare Ford Fusion to a 29th-place finish on Sunday afternoon at Auto Club Speedway.  

“We were making gains on our car,” said Bayne after the race.  “We had found some good speed just shy of halfway before we got caught up in that deal off of Turn 2. I hate that happened. (Crew chief) Bob (Osborne) and everyone on this AdvoCare team worked their guts out today on this car. I wish we could’ve gotten the finish it deserved but the outcome could’ve been a lot worse than 29th. So we’ll move forward from here and head to Martinsville.”

Bayne began the 400-mile event from the 36th position, but wasted little time moving forward, racing his way up to 30th by the completion of the ninth lap. Bayne would maintain his position until the first caution of the afternoon came out on Lap 20. During this caution period, Osborne called the driver of the No. 6 AdvoCare Ford to pit road for four tires and adjustments to improve a tight handling condition in the center of the corner.

Returning to the track in 25th, Bayne was able to work his way up to the 23rd position before the tight handling condition returned to the AdvoCare Ford, shuffling Bayne back to 28th. Bayne remained in the 28th position throughout the ensuing green flag run, but ultimately lost a lap to the race leaders during the first round of green flag pit stops. 

Then, while racing for the lucky dog position just shy of halfway, Bayne and the No. 9 car of Sam Hornish Jr. made contact, damaging both the right and left-front fenders of the AdvoCare Ford. Forced to pit road for repairs, Bayne would return to the track in the 34th position but reported that the car’s handling wasn’t drastically affected by the damage.

Bayne maintained his position on the track until the caution came out with two laps remaining, giving the driver of the AdvoCare Ford an opportunity to pit for four tires and adjustments in an attempt to improve his track position.

Utilizing a never give up attitude, Bayne was able to survive the first attempt at a green-white-checkered finish and race his way into the lucky dog position, earning his way back onto the lead lap. Taking the green for the second attempt at a green-white-checkered finish from the 32nd position, Bayne was able to make a four-wide maneuver to take over 29th as the field came to the checkered flag.

With the result, Bayne ranks 27th in the championship standings and trails 16th-place Jamie McMurray by 34 points as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Martinsville Speedway next weekend.

RFR PR