08/06/2016
Early-Race Incident Leads to 29th-Place Finish for Wallace at Watkins Glen
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (August 6, 2016) – Bubba Wallace, driver of the No. 6 Cheez-It Ford Mustang, was running inside the top 10 for much of the early portion of the event before a multi-car incident unfolded in front of him following a Lap 17 restart, leaving him nowhere to go. The damage was deemed too severe on pit road and Wallace was forced to go to the garage for repairs. Wallace returned to the track after several laps behind the wall to ultimately take the checkered flag in the 29th position.
“It is unfortunate for my team,” said Wallace after the race. “We come here and I messed up on the first lap in the first practice we had and then we were sitting pretty for the rest of the weekend. We will go on to Mid-Ohio and try to have some luck there. I want to thank Cheez-It. It is just a bummer, we hate it. My team gave me a great Cheez-It Ford Mustang, it just was not our day.”
Wallace took the green flag for the 82-Lap event from the 11th position and wasted little time moving forward, cracking the top-10 after Lap 1 and up to as high as ninth before the caution came out on Lap 14. While under caution, crew chief Seth Barbour called the Cheez-it Mustang to pit road for four tires and fuel. Some fellow competitors opted for fuel only, or just two tires, which combined with some pit road traffic, resulted in Wallace returning to the track in 22nd for the ensuing green flag restart.
The field restarted on lap 17 but a multi-car incident going through the Esses occurred right in front of Wallace, severely damaging the nose of the Cheez-It Mustang. After surveying the damage on pit road, crew chief Barbour decided that the car had to go behind the wall for repairs.
After 19 laps in the garage, Wallace returned to the track to try to gain as many valuable positions as possible. In the end, Wallace would be scored with a 29th-place finish.
Next up for the NASCAR XFINITY Series is Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Saturday, Aug. 6 at 2:00pm EST.
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NEXT UP:
2.258-Mile Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Lexington, Ohio
Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016
3:30 p.m. ET on USA and MRN
RACE SUMMARY
Bubba Wallace
Started: 11th
Finished: 29th
Complete Race Results:
