03/19/2018
Early Race Accident Ends Day for Bayne at Fontana
FONTANA, Calif. (March 18, 2018) – After a blown tire sent the Performance Plus Ford Fusion into the outside wall, Trevor Bayne was forced to settle with a 37th-place finish in Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway after the damage was too severe to repair.
“I saw the 21 was having issues,” Bayne said. “We were fighting for that lucky dog spot when the No. 31 squeezed us into the fence. I think he thought he would clear us and I was still just there. It’s unfortunate.”
After starting 13th in the race, Bayne got up to 15th after his second pit stop, reporting that the handling of the car was coming around. After several adjustments during the scheduled stop, the Knoxville, Tennessee, native took the checkered ending stage one in 19th.
A few laps shy of the end of stage two, Bayne looked to the high side of Ryan Newman but was squeezed in, damaging the right front. One lap later, Bayne tried to get it to pit road but the damage ultimately cut the tire sending the Performance Plus Ford into the outside wall.
Next up for Bayne and the No. 6 team is the STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, March 25. Race coverage begins at 2 p.m. (EST) on FS1. Coverage can also be heard on MRN and NASCAR SIRIUS/XM radio channel 90.
