Daniel Dye finished eighth-place at Richmond Raceway and secured a spot for the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) playoffs. The driver of the No. 43 Champion Container Chevrolet Silverado RST earned 13-stage points and 42 total on the night to help push him above the provisional cut line to give him his first-career NCTS playoff appearance.
Dye began his 2024 regular season finale in the 13th position after posting a time of 23.14 seconds in qualifying. Dye moved into the ninth-place quickly and held his position by lap 56 when the first caution of the day appeared. With little complaints of his handling crew chief Blake Bainbridge brought the No. 43 to pit road under the caution with a majority of the field for fresh tires. Dye finished Stage 1 in sixth-place on lap 70 earning five important stage points.
The second stage began on lap 80 with Dye maintaining his position while staying out during the stage caution. After the field steadied during the longest green flag run of the night, Dye made his second pit stop on lap 130 under yellow while in the eighth position. Bainbridge gave the No. 43 four tires and fuel only after receiving no complaints of his handling. Dye gained seven spots after his stop to run third at the end of Stage 2 on lap 140, earning another eight stage points.
Dye stayed out during the stage caution and restarted third for the final segment on lap 150. With a caution-filled start to the stage, Dye cycled into the 10th position when a caution flew once more on lap 224. Bainbridge brought Dye down pit road for his final stop of the night for four tires, fuel, and a minor air pressure adjustment. After coming out of pit road in 20th, Dye was able to surge forward for the remaining 17 laps to cross the line in eighth-place. Dye was able to secure his first career NCTS playoff birth with his sixth top-10 finish and 42 points scored. All four MHR drivers finished inside the top-10 for the first time in the organization’s history.
Daniel Dye Quote:
“I had to stay on top of the situation and really just try and run the best we could all day. A lot of stage points made that easy. Just got to keep working, we will go to Milwaukee and hopefully keep this momentum rolling. As soon as you start playing defense you start taking away from your potential, so I just had to stay on offense all day and it worked out.”
McAnally Hilgemann Racing PR
