09/25/2016
Bubba Wallace Kicks off XFINITY Chase with 8th-Place Finish at Kentucky
Wallace Moves to Dover Tied for Fourth in Chase Standings
SPARTA, Ky. (Sept. 24, 2016) – Roush Fenway Racing driver Bubba Wallace kicked off the inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) Chase with a strong performance in Saturday night’s NXS race at Kentucky Speedway. Wallace qualified ninth and spent virtually the entire event inside the field’s top 10, driving his No. 6 Bleacher Report Ford Mustang all the way to the front at one point – while leading nine laps.
“It was a solid effort,” said Wallace. “We had trouble on those restarts which hurt us in the end, but we came in here and got a good finish. We ran up front for much of the night and we’ll take this top 10 and build on that for next week when we head to one of my favorite tracks at Dover.”
With the finish, Wallace leaves the Bluegrass State tied for fourth in the NXS Chase standings with Roush Fenway teammate Ryan Reed.
After advancing to the final round of qualifying, Wallace needed only 25 laps to move into the top five, before driving all the way to second on lap 29. In a caution filled event, Wallace continued to run inside the top five before powering his way to the lead on lap 105. With Wallace running in the third position, the team opted for four fresh tires after a caution on lap 117. Wallace restarted 15th, but the strategy ultimately paid off with Wallace taking fuel only during a caution on lap 130.
Wallace restarted fifth, but was unable to hold the high line and was shuffled back to 10th. The race, which saw 12 cautions on the night, continued to be plagued by accidents, as Wallace remained in the top 10 for the remainder of the race, moving on to the eighth place finish; his ninth top-10 finish of the season and his second at Kentucky this season.
The NXS will head to Dover International Speedway next weekend for the second race of The Chase. Wallace posted a career-best second place finish earlier this year at the Monster Mile.
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