Strong Pocono Effort Puts Dye in Playoff Position

Venue: Pocono Raceway

FINISH: 16th

Start: 5th

Laps Led: 0

Stage Results: Stage 1 – 4th Stage 2 – 3rd

NCTS Point Standings Position: 10th

Daniel Dye now holds a playoff spot in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) point standings after his 14th-place result at Pocono Raceway. The driver of the No. 43 Champion Container Chevrolet Silverado RST earned a total of 36-points after picking up 15-points from the first two stages. Dye adds Pocono Raceway as his ninth track this season that he has improved his finishing result from his rookie campaign. He now sits in a playoff spot sitting one-point above the provisional cut line.

In the 20-minute practice session to begin the day, Dye ran several laps and posted the 18th fastest time. Due to the inclement weather, the No. 43 team began in fifth position based on the rule book. On lap three, Dye wasted no time to get forward and made an impressive move to go three-wide and earn the third position. With the strung-out field, Dye finished Stage 1 on lap 15 in fourth-place giving him seven points.

Dye stayed out on track from orders of crew chief Blake Bainbridge who wanted to keep track position. Dye restarted sixth after choosing the outside lane and followed the leaders to third position shortly after. He held his position for the remainder of Stage 2 and gained another eight points.

While under the stage caution Dye made his first trip to pit road for a minor air pressure adjustment to help tighten up with four tires and fuel. On lap, 36 the final stage of the race began with Dye in the ninth position. With a caution coming out on lap 44 he found himself up to seventh and was called to pit road for his final stop of the night. Bainbridge gave Dye four tires, fuel, and a track bar adjustment to tighten up but, restarted 25th after the truck stalled in his pit box. Dye was up to 18th before the race came to a halt due to weather on lap 62. The CRC Brakleen 175 went back to green on lap 68 with Dye gaining two more spots to cross the line in 16th-place. Dye has gained 38 points in the last two races which has now moved him into 10th in the NCTS point standings.

Daniel Dye Quote:

“Great speed all day with our Champion Container Silverado at Pocono. Starting up front was really beneficial, and having track position was helpful. Collecting stage points in the first two stages was huge. When we had trouble on pit road with the truck stalling, we had to work hard to regain track position, and we managed to get our No. 43 back to 16th by the end. Despite the disappointing finish, it was a good day for our MHR team overall, except for that one issue. Thank you to everyone at Champion Container for coming out and supporting us. We couldn’t do any of this without them.”