Perseverance Leads to a 16th-Place Finish for Bayne, Aaron's Racing Team at Atlanta

Event/Date: Degree V12 300/Sept. 5, 2009
Venue: Atlanta Motor Speedway – Hampton, Ga.
Starting Position: Seventh
Finishing Position: 16th

Hampton, Ga. (Sept. 6, 2009) – Despite experiencing a pair of setbacks during Saturday night’s Degree V12 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Trevor Bayne and the Aaron’s Racing team were able to hang on for a 16th-place finish.

In qualifying Saturday afternoon, Bayne wheeled the No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota around the 1.5-mile oval to its best lap of 32.059 seconds (172.931 mph) which was good enough to line up seventh for the 300-mile event.

Under clear skies Saturday evening, the 43-car field took the green flag to begin the scheduled 195-lap contest around the Hampton, Ga. racetrack. The 18-year-old driver was quick to inform his crew that their Toyota Camry was a little loose.

The race was barely underway, on lap 25, when debris in turn one brought things under caution for the first time of the evening. Crew chief Jerry Baxter summoned his driver into the pits for service which included fuel, four fresh Goodyear tires with an air pressure adjustment and a chassis adjustment. A solid pit stop by the over-the-wall crew allowed Bayne to remain 14th in the running order for the lap 30 restart.

After the round of adjustments the No. 99 Dream Machine came to life and Bayne began a forward march. He was 13th by lap 46, 12th on lap 55 and worked his way to the 11th spot by lap 64. Unfortunately, on lap 66, Bayne slightly brushed the wall which caused his No. 99 machine to become tight.

He began to free fall through the field and lost a lap to the leaders 15 laps later. However, his bad luck didn’t end there. On lap 84, he had a right-front tire losing air pressure and was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop on lap 87. Bayne was now listed 30th two laps down.

Despite running times as fast as the leaders, the Knoxville, Tenn., native was never able be get his laps back. However, he was able to pick up 14 spots and cross the finish line 16th, the first car two laps down.

Kevin Harvick grabbed his second NASCAR Nationwide Series victory followed by Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brad Keselowski and Jeff Burton.

Next weekend, Scott Speed climbs behind the wheel of the No. 99 Red Bull Toyota for the Virginia 529 College Saving 250 at Richmond International Raceway. Live coverage will begin Friday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time and will be telecast live on ESPN2. The event will also be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 27th stop on the 35-race schedule will be televised live the same day live on ESPN2 beginning at 4 p.m. EDT.

TREVOR BAYNE QUOTE:
“The Aaron’s Dream Machine was coming to life, and I just brushed the wall. I think we had a car capable of finishing in the top eight. Jerry (Baxter) and all the guys did and awesome job and I had a great car for the race. I learned so much this weekend and can’t wait to come back here next year.”