Dye Finishes Top-10 in NCTS Points After Phoenix Finale
Venue: Phoenix Raceway
FINISH: 24th
Start: 16th
Laps Led: 0
NCTS Point Standings Position: 10th
Daniel Dye finished the 2024 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) season with a 24th-place result at Phoenix Raceway. The driver of the No. 43 NAPA Nightvision Chevrolet Silverado RST found his way into the top-five late in the final stage before incurring a restart violation. Dye still capped his campaign with a career-best 10th place finish in the NCTS championship standings.
Dye began his day by posting a 26.658 second lap time in qualifying, placing him in the 16th position for Friday night’s finale. In the early portions of the race Dye expressed to his team that he was “pretty free” and surrendered a lap to the leaders in the 20th position just before the end of Stage 1 on lap 45.
Under the stage, caution Dye made his first scheduled stop of the night as crew chief Blake Bainbridge gave the No. 43 Chevy four tires, fuel, and a trackbar adjustment to aid the handling condition. Dye rejoined the led lap position after earning the Lucky Dog award and restarted Stage 2 on lap 55 in 20th position.
Dye was able to use the adjustments to move quickly into the 16th spot. With a long green flag run, Dye finished out Stage 2 on lap 90 still maintaining his position. While pitting under the second stage caution, the NAPA Nightvision team had a great stop and returned him to the track in 12th-place to begin the final segment of the night.
Dye capitalized on multiple cautions early in the final stage to move into the top-10 with opportunistic maneuvers in traffic. On the final restart of the night on lap 123, he incurred a restart violation while lined up in fifth position. On lap 129, Dye served the drive-through penalty and rejoined the field one lap behind the leaders. He ran out the final 21 laps to take the checkered flag in 24th position.
Daniel Dye Quote:
“We had a really fast No. 43 NAPA Nightvision Chevy in the final stage. We found a lot of speed late and we were able to make our way up to the top-five. Unfortunately, we got a penalty that basically ended our night. We had a lot of speed in the truck and wish we could have gotten a finish to show how good we were. It’s been a great year, so thanks everyone on our NAPA Nightvision team, Chevrolet, and everyone at MHR for what they for our team this season.”
