#1 Ends Up Number One at Thompson by Penny Aicardi
Bayne Leads DEI Display of Dominance in CW East Series
Trevor Bayne (#1) races with DEI teammate Jesus Hernandez (#11) and Joe Gibbs Racing's Marc Davis (#18) at Thompson. (Ken Spring Photo)
Trevor Bayne bested DEI teammate Jesus Hernandez in an exciting battle to the finish at Thompson International Speedway (CT) to capture his first career NASCAR Camping World Series East win after earning his first career pole award earlier in the day. Bayne and Hernandez swapped the lead five times in the second half of the 100-lap race, but it was Bayne who got the preferred outside groove for the final restart of the day at lap 97.
“You always want to take the lead, but you're also thinking maybe I want second just in case there's another caution. At the same time, what if there are no more cautions? It's kind of like you're gambling. I was giving it my all every time. We got around him one time and the caution came out so I was on the bottom. I was like 'oh man, here he goes again and I'm going to second'. On the last caution, it played right into our favor,” said the elated 17-year-old winner.
Bayne moved into second in the points with his win, and capped off a stellar effort for the three-car DEI contingent, who all placed in the top-five.
“I'm telling you what, it's a weekend for firsts. First on the board in practice, not that that matters, we got our first pole, and our first win. The ones were going on this weekend for this #1 car,” Bayne said from victory lane. “This was a good team effort. We raced each other hard and clean in turn one and two, and we have another
Bayne (#1) and Steve Park (#35) battled hard for the lead until Park went around and Bayne scooted on by. (Jamie Williams Photo)
Bayne celebrates his victory. (Eric LeFleche /VLF Racing Photo)
teammate in the top-five so it's a great run for DEI. These guys give me a great car every weekend and I'm glad it paid off with a win here.”
Jesus Hernandez initially took the lead on a restart at lap 38 from Steve Park, who spun in turn two and moved Bayne up to the second spot. The two DEI teammates brought the field back to green at lap 44 with Hernandez driving right back out front and remaining there until another restart at lap 53 when Bayne got the advantage. Hernandez fought back and drove by Bayne on the following circuit to reclaim the lead, where he stayed until lap 80.
Bayne had the preferred groove for a restart at lap 81 and drove by for the lead once again after an intense side-by-side battle. When the caution reemerged, however, Hernandez had the preferred line on the outside.
The two swapped one more time before the final restart came at lap 97 with Bayne on the outside.
“I knew my car was pretty fast. It stayed under me all night, and it was probably the best car we had all year,” said Hernandez, who finished the race as the runner-up. “When we got Trevor on the outside, and he got a jump on me that one time, I knew he was going to be a factor at the end. I just waited and you try to go out front and hope there are no more cautions. He ended up getting into second and he got the preferred line on the outside, and on that last restart I just couldn't hold him off. It took my car maybe two or three laps to get its full momentum. We needed just a little more in the beginning, but it was still a good run for us.”
Brad Leighton, who started ninth and looked to be a factor in the closing laps, finished the race in third.
“It was the worst restart of the day honestly,” said Leighton about the lap 97 restart. “I started every restart in third gear and that restart I started second because they were creeping. I spun the tires down the whole frontstretch. By the time I got up off turn two the thing was burning the back tires off because I had no grip. After that I was just pedaling. I got by the 18 [of Marc Davis] again and used him up pretty good. I slid up into him a little bit, and I hated to do that, but it was a green-white-checker.”
Marc Davis and Jeffrey Earnhardt rounded out the top-five. Austin Dillon's ninth place finish protected his point lead as the series approaches the halfway mark.
“The car was just tight. We were never free the whole night,” said Dillon. “But, I learned a lot in the race, and I started driving harder later in the race. I learned how hard I can take these cars.”
Early favorite Matt Kobyluck led for a total of 17 laps after having to go to a backup car following the first practice session when a socket and six-inch extension pierced his tire and sent him into the wall. Kobyluck gave up the lead at lap 27 when tire issues plagued him again and sent him down pit road for a flat right front.
“It was ten laps in the making actually,” said Kobyluck about the tire. “It had a slow leak and it was getting softer and softer and softer. Then the thing just went down on me altogether coming out of turn four. I somehow kept it out of the fence and had to pit. I could have just spun the thing out but then I would have gotten black-flagged anyway.”
The NASCAR Camping World East Series returns to action on Saturday night, July 19th at Nashville's Music City Motorplex.
NASCAR Camping World Series East-Pepsi Full Fender Frenzy 100 Unofficial Results
At Thompson International Speedway
Thompson, CT
Lap length: 0.625 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (1) Trevor Bayne, Knoxville, Tenn., Chevrolet, 100 laps, 69.167 mph, $8,815.
2. (8) Jesus Hernandez, Fresno, Calif., Chevrolet, 100, $5,215.
3. (9) Brad Leighton, Center Harbor, N.H., Chevrolet, 100, $2,700.
4. (2) Marc Davis, Mitchelville, MD., Toyota, 100, $3,000.
5. (12) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Mooresville, N.C., Chevrolet, 100, $2,500.
6. (10) Jody Lavender, Hartsville, S.C., Ford, 100, $1,950.
7. (4) Matt Kobyluck, Uncasville, Conn., Chevrolet, 100, $1,600.
8. (23) Rogelio Lopez, Aquascalientes, Mexico, Chevrolet, 100, $3,050.
9. (11) Austin Dillon, Lewisville, N.C., Chevrolet, 100, $1,520.
10. (21) Jeff Anton, Russell, Mass., Chevrolet, 100, $1,500.
11. (14) Max Dumarey, Gent, Belgium, Chevrolet, 100, $1,000.
12. (25) Dustin Delaney, Mayfield, N.Y., Chevrolet, 100, $1,000.
13. (24) Jonathan Smith, Beacon Falls, Conn., Dodge, 100, $1,000.
14. (26) Jamie Hayes, Norlina, N.C., Chevrolet, 100, $1,500.
15. (3) Eddie MacDonald, Rowley, Mass., Chevrolet, 100, $1,475.
16. (16) Joe Polewarczyk, Hudson, N.H., Chevrolet, 100, $975.
17. (17) Ricky Carmichael, Clearwater, Fla., Chevrolet, 100, suspension, $1,450.
18. (5) Peyton Sellers, Danville, VA., Chevrolet, 100, $950.
19. (7) Brian Ickler, San Diego, Calif., Chevrolet, 100, $1,425.
20. (19) Alex Kennedy, Aztec, New Mexico, Chevrolet, 100, $925.
21. (22) Ryan Duff, Hazard, Ky., Chevrolet, 100, $900.
22. (6) Steve Park, East Northport, N.Y., Chevrolet, 100, $1,400.
23. (20) Eric Lux, Buffalo, N.Y., Toyota, 100, $900.
24. (15) Craig Goess, Greenville, N.C., Toyota, 99, $900.
25. (13) Bryon Chew, Mattituck, N.Y., Chevrolet, 83, accident, $1,400.
26. (27) James Pritchard, Wharton, N.J., Dodge, 73, suspension, $900.
27. (28) Joe Oliver, Commack, N.Y., Chevrolet, 71, $900.
28. (18) Mike Johnson, Salisbury, Mass., Ford, 43, radiator, $900.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 0 hours 54 minutes 13 seconds
Margin of Victory: .460 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: T.Bayne (110.527 mph, 20.357 seconds)
Caution Flags: 6 for 35 laps.
Lead Changes: 8 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders: M.Davis 1-10; M.Kobyluck 11-27; S.Park 28-37; J.Hernandez 38-52; T.Bayne 53; J.Hernandez 54-80; T.Bayne 81-88; J.Hernandez 89-96; T.Bayne 97-100.
Standings: 1. A.Dillon, 945; 2. T.Bayne, 916; 3. M.Kobyluck, 910; 4. J.Hernandez, 857; 5. M.Davis, 857; 6. B.Ickler, 837; 7. E.MacDonald, 808; 8. J.Earnhardt, 786; 9. J.Lavender, 777; 10. S.Park, 771.
Trevor Bayne in victory lane. (Jamie Williams Photo)
