Bayne climbs to 6th place during chaotic race ending in Loudon

LOUDON, N.H. – With five laps to go Roush Fenway Racing’s Trevor Bayne was in 15th place, but a smart pit-stop strategy earlier in the race and a string of attempts at a green-white-checkered flag helped him weave his way toward the top of the pack in his Cargill Ford Mustang. By the time the checkered flag finally fell at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Saturday, Bayne and the No. 6 team were sitting strong in sixth-place in the CNBC Prime’s The Profit 200.

Pit stop for Trevor Bayne

Photo by: Eric Gilbert

The strong finish came with a lot of hard work and determination by the No. 6 team. With about 70 laps to go, Bayne was sitting in the top-ten when he went three wide, got squeezed out of position, and the car got banged up. Afterward, Bayne talked to one of the other drivers involved after the accident, “I thought the 43 driver might give me a little bit of a break but he said it was too late by the time he realized I was coming up with the 11, so that kind of lost our track position for us.”

The team worked hard to get the No. 6 Cargill Ford Mustang repaired and keep it in contention. But it turned out to be a decision earlier in the race that was the critical move to help Bayne be in the right spot at the race. That’s when crew chief Mike Kelley kept the car out longer than nearly every other driver during a series of green-flag pit stops. The decision let Bayne survive a string of attempts at green-white-checkered flags while other cars were forced to come in for fuel during a race that ran an extra 13 laps.

On each restart, Bayne gained a few more positions before finally crossing the finish line in sixth place and earning 38 points on the day. Those points boosted him up one more position in the NASCAR Nationwide Standings to ninth; 68 points behind the leader. Bayne and the No. 6 team will be back on the track next Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway.

Roush Fenway Racing