Dye Stays Within Reach of Playoffs Following IRP
Venue: Indianapolis Raceway Park
FINISH: 27th
Start: 7th
Laps Led: 0
NCTS Point Standings Position: 11th
Daniel Dye finished his second start at Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP) in 27th-place after an unscheduled pit stop disrupted his top-10 run. The driver of the No. 43 Bettenhausen Automotive Chevrolet Silverado RST sits 11th position in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) point standings, but remains in the playoff hunt, five points back of the cut line with one regular season race remaining.
Dye began his day in the Circle City by posting a time of 23.04 seconds in qualifying placing him seventh on the starting grid. The 20-year-old started strong by holding down a top-10 position in the early portion of the TSport 200. The caution flag soon waived on lap 43, bringing Dye down pit road for his first stop of the night. After four tires, fuel, and a minor air pressure adjustment he restarted ninth on lap 50. Dye managed to earn one stage point by finishing 10th position at the conclusion of Stage 1 on lap 60.
Dye was maintaining a top-10 spot for the first 20 laps of Stage 2. Dye told crew chief Blake Bainbridge that he had a loose wheel and needed to pit. On lap 80, the No. 43 came to pit road for four tires and fuel under the green flag. After his stop he was one-lap down in the 32nd position. Dye managed to unlap himself and move to 26th-place by the beginning of Stage 3 on lap 129. Dye crossed the line at IRP in 27th position putting him 11th for the NCTS point standings.
Daniel Dye Quote:
“We started the race decent with our Bettenhausen Auto Silverado and earned a stage point. Unfortunately, a loose wheel on our MHR Chevy took us out of the hunt for the rest of the night after that. We’ll have to focus and be ready for Richmond.”