Trevor Bayne, driver of the No. 6 AdvoCare Ford Mustang, recorded his sixth consecutive top-10 finish at Phoenix International Raceway in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) event on Saturday afternoon, earning a ninth-place finish.
“I’m happy with ninth today,” said Bayne after the race. “We ran around 10th all race long so I’m happy that we were able to come away with another top-10. Chad (Norris) and everyone never gave up on this car all day and we’re all just looking forward to getting to Homestead next week and end this season on a high note by getting our No. 6 AdvoCare Ford Mustang into Victory Lane.”
Bayne began the 200-Lap event from the 12th position after advancing to the final round of knockout qualifying Saturday morning. Bayne maintained his position inside the top 15 for much of the early portion of the race, working his way up to 11th just prior to the first caution of the afternoon coming out on Lap 36. While under caution, crew chief Chad Norris called the driver of the No. 6 AdvoCare Ford Mustang to pit road for right-side tires and a chassis adjustment to rectify a tight handling condition.
After returning to the track in seventh, Bayne was forced three-wide on the ensuing restart and ultimately shuffled back to the 11th position. He settled in inside the top 15 from there, racing with Roush Fenway Racing teammates Chris Buescher and Ryan Reed.
Then, during a Lap 109 caution, Norris utilized a fuel-only strategy to move Bayne from 11th up to the sixth position. Now back inside the top 10, Bayne maintained his position throughout the 48 lap green flag run that followed, despite battling a loose handling condition on entry and exit of the corners and a tight handling condition through the center.
With one last chance to improve the handling of the AdvoCare Ford, Norris called Bayne to pit road for the final time during a Lap 165 caution for a chassis adjustment. Returning to the track in 12th, Bayne worked his way back into the top 10 just as the caution came out with two laps remaining, setting up the first attempt at a Green-White-Checker finish.
Restarting in 10th, Bayne was able to utilize the outside line to work his way up to ninth as the field took the white flag. On the final lap, Bayne was able to hold off a charge from Regan Smith to earn a ninth-place finish, his 21st top-10 finish of the 2014 NNS season.
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