Daniel Dye earned his career-best NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) finish with a second-place result at Nashville Superspeedway on Friday night. The driver of the No.43 NAPA Nightvision Chevrolet Silverado RST played a massive part in a dominant Friday show for MHR, as the team claimed three of the top-five finishers. Dye completed the second one-two finish in MHR’s history as he took the checkered flag behind teammate Christian Eckes. His 48-point performance was a career-high in 36 starts and brought him to within 14-points of the playoff cut line.
Dye began his day at Nashville by posting a time of 30.41 seconds in qualifying, putting him in ninth starting position. With a caution-filled start to the race, he was able to progress forward and run in fifth-place by the end of Stage 1 on lap 45 to earn six points. Dye told his team that he felt free, but intermittently tight in dirty air. He received four tires, fuel, and a minor air pressure adjustment during the stage caution.
Dye restarted in the sixth position for the beginning of second stage on lap 53. The adjustments made by the No. 43 team helped as Dye continued his push and grabbed the fourth position later on in the stage. Dye was able to maintain his position until the end of Stage 2 on lap 95, securing him another seven stage points. While under the stage caution, Dye made his second and final pit stop of night.
Dye told crew chief Blake Bainbridge that he was a tick tight and needed another minor adjustment. Bainbridge and the No. 43 team also gave Dye four tires and fuel to finish. Another stellar stop from the NAPA Nightvision team saw Dye come off pit road in the third position to begin the final segment. After a strong restart on lap 119, he followed behind Eckes for the remaining laps. Dye finished in second position and scored his first career NCTS top-five result. With his 13-stage points, Dye gained 23 points on the provisional playoff cut line with three regular season races remaining.
Daniel Dye Quote:
“I maintained well the first couple of laps but, he (Christian Eckes) seemed to be a tick better. He might of been getting to the gas a little sooner than I was, we were close all night which is a really good feeling. Christian has been doing this for a while and won a lot of races. It’s awesome for our MHR team to finish one-two especially with all the people from NAPA here, it’s a great feeling.”
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