Bayne Secures 13th-Place Finish at Bristol

Trevor Bayne and the No. 16 Fastenal team started very strong in Friday night’s Food City 250 Nationwide Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Bayne, working with new crew chief Chad Norris, started in the seventh position and got out of the gates quickly, running in the top- five by the halfway point of the race and threatening the race leaders during an 84 lap green-flag run. Bayne climbed as high as the third position by lap 152, but fought a tight race car that derailed his charge to the front. Bayne pit three times during the race for tires, fuel and minor air pressure and track bar adjustments.  Bayne commented he was free on exit of the corners and tight over the bumps on the race track. Bayne still ran lap times consistent with eventual race winner Kyle Busch in stretches, but could not close the gap and was caught up in traffic as the race neared an end. Bayne was scored in 13th-place when the checkered-flag fell.  It was a valiant effort by Bayne and the No. 16 Fastenal team. Roush Fenway Racing teammates Carl Edwards and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished the race in the fourth and 11th position respectively.

“I thought we were going to have a good night when we were driving up through the field there for a while,” said Bayne. “Past the half way point we were up to third and then got up to second and I was thinking it was going to be awesome. Then we kind of fell apart at the end. We got the car too tight and then we had a minor mistake on pit road. We had an easy top-10 going, but with the mistakes we made, it is hard to make up ground, even if you are faster than the guy in front of you. It was a decent day though and the first time working with my new crew chief Chad Norris, who did a good job. Having Fastenal on the car was nice, but it is too bad that one of the cars couldn’t get them to victory lane though.”

Roush Fenway Racing PR