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Race report

Tough day for Pastrana at Charlotte 300

Pastrana finishes 33rd in race at Charlotte Motor Speedway

Travis Pastrana

Travis Pastrana

Action Sports Photography

CONCORD, N.C. (May 25, 2013) – Travis Pastrana finished 33rd in Saturday’s History 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (CMS) after contact with the wall forced the No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing (RFR) Ford Mustang to retire from the race with 37 laps remaining.

“My pride hurts more than anything,” said Pastrana. “The guys gave me a good car. I obviously slipped and spun out in qualifying and then we started out loose at the start of every run, but it would get better and better at the end. I felt like we had a great car. All of the guys really worked hard on it and it’s just really disappointing. We knew we had to be in front of Nelson [Piquet] for the lucky dog and I didn’t want to be the one that caused it, but I just ran out of talent there.”

Travis Pastrana
Travis Pastrana

Photo by: Action Sports Photography

For the second time in his NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) career, Pastrana visited the 1.5-mile track. NNS teams had an open test session at the track on Wednesday, followed by two practice sessions on Thursday. Pleased with the handling of the car, the team decided to sit out final practice in an effort to conserve tires for Saturday’s race.

NNS teams returned to the track on Saturday morning in order to qualify. Pastrana was the 26th driver to make a qualifying attempt. Of the 26 cars, Pastrana was ninth fastest on his first lap, but was not able to complete his second lap as the car spun coming out of Turn 4. After four fresh Goodyear tires, Pastrana started 25th.

At the drop of the green flag, Pastrana remained in the top-25, radioing to the crew that the car was loose, but seemed to get better the longer it ran. The first caution flag of the day was displayed on Lap 40, with the No. 60 team opting to come down pit road for four fresh tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment. After a strong pit stop, the No. 60 restarted 17th.

On the following green flag run, Pastrana was quiet on the radio, but continued to hold his ground in the top-18. When the caution flag flew again, Pastrana made his way down pit road for the second time of the day for more tires and chassis adjustments. Another strong pit stop had the No. 60 Ford Mustang restarting 15th.

Upon returning to green flag conditions, Pastrana dropped back a few spots, but remained in the top-20. The No. 60 ultimately lost a lap to the leader as green flag pit stops cycled through. A caution on Lap 152 put Pastrana in position to race for the free pass in order to get back on the lead lap. When the race restarted, the No. 60 broke loose off of Turn 2, sustaining severe damage and forcing the team to retire from the race early. The No. 60 was credited with 33rd.

Kyle Busch took home his sixth victory of the season, while NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regulars Kasey Kahne and Joey Logano finished second and third, respectively. Rookie Kyle Larson finished fourth, with Kevin Harvick following behind in fifth. RFR teammate Trevor Bayne finished sixth, while Chris Buescher finished 38th.

Roush Fenway Racing

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