Daniel Dye moved above the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) playoffs cut line after his eighth-place result at The Milwaukee Mile. The driver of the No. 43 Champion Container Silverado RST finished inside the top-10 in both stages of the LIUNA 175 and jumped nine points above the provisional playoff cutline. Dye now sits seventh in the NCTS playoff standings after earning 38 points on the day, sixth most among all drivers.
Dyes weekend in the “Badger State” began by posting a time of 30.20 seconds in qualifying on Saturday giving him the 10th starting position for Sunday’s 175-lap event. While consistently running in the top-10, the first caution of the day appeared on lap 48 prompting several drivers to make a pit stop. After a quick four-tire pit stop with fuel, he came out of pit road in seventh position. Stage 1 concluded on lap 55 under yellow with Dye maintaining that position to earn four stage-points.
Dye restarted in the fifth position for Stage 2 on lap 63. The No. 43 Chevrolet settled into seventh-place after being a little free following the restart. In a caution-free segment, Dye was able to regain the sixth position before the end of Stage 2 on lap 110. With an additional five-stage-points, Dye made his final pit stop of the day under the stage caution. To help the loosen truck conditions, crew chief Blake Bainbridge gave Dye an air pressure adjustment with four tires and fuel.
The final segment went green on lap 120 with Dye once again restarting in the fifth position. With struggles during the short runs, he briefly ran in 10th position. As the caution-free final segment continued, Dye managed to show speed and moved his way back to the eighth position by the end of the race on lap 175. The result marks Dye’s second set of back-to-back top-10 finishes this season.
Daniel Dye Quote:
“It was a good day with a bunch of stage points and a decent finish. We probably could have finished a little bit better. Our short run speed was pretty brutal. Long run speed was really good, so I’m happy with our No. 43 Champion Container Chevy. Ready to go to Bristol. The truck came alive about 10 laps into our run. We just needed to have better short run speed and restart better. We need to keep doing what we are doing and ride the wave, keep finishing in the top-10 and earning a lot of stage points.”
McAnally Hilgemann Racing PR
