02/22/2015
Last-Lap Incident Leaves Bayne With 30th-Place Finish In Daytona 500
Daytona Beach, Fla. (Feb. 22, 2015) – Trevor Bayne, driver of the No. 6 AdvoCare Ford Fusion, was battling three-wide in the closing stages of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway when he sustained damage in a last-lap incident that ultimately led to him taking the checkered flag in the 30th position.
“That racing was intense,” said Bayne after the race. “In the end there when we were three-wide throughout the whole field, it was wild. I hate that we got caught up in that deal on the backstretch on the last lap; I just had no place to go with this AdvoCare Ford Fusion. But I want to thank Bob (Osborne) and all of my guys for the hard work and effort they put into these last two weeks down here. We’ll just have to go get them in Atlanta.”
Bayne took the green flag for the 57th running of the Daytona 500 from the 39th position after having to start at the rear of the field due to the team using a backup car following the incident in Thursday evening’s Duel 150 event. In the early stages, Bayne steadily worked his way forward utilizing the draft to get up to 22nd in the first seven laps. Despite the early charge, the handling began to go away from the No. 6 AdvoCare Ford Fusion as Bayne reported to crew chief Bob Osborne that the car was tight on exit of the corners.
Osborne then took advantage of a Lap 18 caution to call Bayne to pit road for four tires and adjustments. Returning to the track in 23rd, Bayne again began to methodically work his way forward, taking over the 15th position just past the one-quarter mark of the 200-Lap event. The driver of the AdvoCare Ford continued to battle for position inside the top 20 throughout the ensuing green flag run, while still fighting a tight handling condition that made him have to roll out of the throttle on exit of the corners.
As the race went on and the track conditions changed, the handling of the Roush Fenway Racing Ford began to improve. Bayne was able to work his way up to the ninth position just prior to a round of green flag pit stops with just over 40 laps to go. Then, during a Lap 160 caution, crew chief Osborne called Bayne to pit road to top off the fuel in order to ensure that they could make it to the end of the race. Bayne would return to the track from this stop in 19th.
In the closing stages, Bayne found himself trapped in a wall of cars racing three-by-three for more than 10 rows. Unable to make much progress in any lane, Bayne maneuvered the AdvoCare Ford back up to 14th just prior to the caution coming out with three laps to go, setting up a green-white-checkered finish.
On the ensuing restart, Bayne would once again race three-wide in an attempt to gain as many positions as possible. However, as the field came off of Turn 2 for the final time Bayne was involved in a multi-car incident that damaged the Roush Fenway Ford, ultimately leading to a 30th-place finish.
