Trevor Bayne Made Me a Believer in NASCAR Again
What an amazing Daytona 500 on Sunday. A record number of lead changes (74), leaders (22), and cautions (16). The new style of racing at Daytona was somehow even more intense, dramatic, and exciting than the traditional interstate traffic jams racing around Daytona in packs of 30 cars a few seconds a part. Due to the new pavement and the aerodynamical adjustments in the cars this year, it was clearly evident that 2x2 was the way to go around Daytona.
Fans are split on whether the 2x2 racing was the way to go, but count me among the fans of the pairs of cars racing ferociously the famed speedway. The unique style led to tons of lead changes and drama throughout as there were an infinite number of strategies and discussions of who was pairing up with who and positioning heading into the last few laps. It was an extra element of strategery and freshness that frankly, the race and NASCAR needed. All the cautions dragged the race down a bit, but with the excitement of green flag action, it was worth it. However, the excitement, drama, and freshness wasn't just in the style of race, but who won it.
If you had heard of Trevor Bayne before he talked to Darrell Waltrip before the race, then I'm sure you have a bridge to sell me as well. The kid just turned 20, he's driving a part-time Cup schedule with the Wood Brothers, and nobody outside of his immediate family even knew he was in the Daytona 500, forget about winning it. With all the talk about Johnson, Gordon, Little E, Stewart, and the other stars, Bayne's second ever Cup start was a nice footnote to the 2011 Daytona 500.
However, as the day went on, Bayne's name clung to the leaderboard. He wasn't going anywhere but the front in the famous Wood Brothers #21. Bayne was particularly impressive with his racing maturity, backing out of three wide situations, and pushing ability. It seemed that no matter he was pushing, Bayne ended up moving to the front. His last partner, David Ragan, was in the lead at the beginning of the first GWC finish, but was unfortunately black flagged for trying to hook up with Bayne too early. After a wreck on the backstretch, that left the 20 year old, in his second ever start, leading the Daytona 500.
Bayne held his nerve and the lead to the white flag and down the backstretch of the final lap. With veteran Bobby Labonte pushing him and Carl Edwards charging at the front of a lightning fast pair with all the momentum, it looked bleak for Bayne. Nobody leading coming out of Turn 4 had been able to hold the lead due to the insane momentum and speed carried by the chasing car. However, Bayne made a subtle but brilliant move to the inside abandoning Labonte and picking up the push of Edwards. The old #21 had enough push to take the checkered flag.
And just like that, Trevor Bayne, who at the start of the day was just a 20 year old Nationwide driver looking to pick up laps and experience, had won the Daytona 500, the biggest race of them all. And just like that, it seemed like NASCAR was reborn as well. It's easy to get caught up in the Cinderella story of Bayne and the Wood Brothers, but this is the stuff that dreams and destiny are made of... and it is exactly what NASCAR needed. Although there will be rushes to overstate the importance of Bayne's victory, this unlikeliest of results simply can't be overstated.
First off, think about the improbability of Trevor Bayne winning the Daytona 500. His biggest win coming into Daytona was in a minor league series at Thompson Speedway in Connecticut... not exactly the Great American Race! Look at some of these stats, facts, and figures...
*At 20 years old, Bayne is the youngest Daytona 500 winner by 5 years. Jeff Gordon was 25 in 1997 when he won the 500.
*Bayne won the Daytona 500 in his first ever attempt. The only other driver to duplicate that feat was Lee Petty, who won the first Daytona 500 in 1959!
*For his victory he picks up... well, 0 Cup points. Due to the new NASCAR rule that restricts drivers to only racing for points in one series, Bayne can't score Cup points from his win because he is running a full Nationwide schedule. That was done to keep Cup guys from dominating the second series, not the other way around. As a consolation, Bayne is currently 5th in the NNS standings.
*Bayne won in only his second career start - a feat only equaled by Jamie McMurray in 2002.
Bayne winning on his own would be the most unbelievable story in auto racing, and heck maybe even all of sports this year. But it's his combination with the Wood Brothers and the world famous #21 car that makes the story all the more sweeter. That car stands only behind the blue #43 of Richard Petty and the black #3 of Dale Earnhardt as the most famous in stock car racing history. The Woods are the oldest team in NASCAR, being involved for over 60 years, back to 1950. 60 years!! Of course, the family owned team has passed through different hands through the generations, but Len and Eddie Wood have been a NASCAR staple for decades. When NASCAR dynasties are mentioned, the Wood Brothers rank right up there with the Pettys, Earnhardts, and Allisons at the top of the sport.
Their #21 car has seen the absolute best of the best fill its seat over the years - Junior Johnson, Tiny Lund, Marvin Panch, Fred Lorenzen, Cale Yarborough, Buddy Baker, Dale Jarrett, Donnie Allison, Neil Bonnett, Buddy Baker, Bill Elliott, and even open wheel legends like AJ Foyt, Parnelli Jones, Bobby Rahal, and Dan Gurney have rode in the 21. It's claimed that 20 of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers have taken a ride in the Wood Brothers 21 car. However, none was more successful than the Silver Fox, David Pearson. Pearson is a NASCAR legend and will be forever known as the main foil to Richard Petty. He's to NASCAR what Bird or Magic or West or WIlt mean to the NBA. Pearson won three championships and 105 races - the only other NASCAR driver besides Richard Petty to win over 100 races. His most famous win was the 1976 Daytona 500, a classic racing and wrecking duel with Petty that has to be seen to be believed...
It can't be stressed enough how iconic the Wood Brothers #21 car is to NASCAR fans. However, in the last two decades, the team has faded into less than a shadow of its former greatness. The Wood Brothers haven't even fielded a car for a full season since 2006. The 21 had been in victory lane once from 1994-2010, a 2001 victory by Elliott Sadler in Bristol. Bayne's Daytona miracle is the 4th win for the Wood Brothers since 1987, 24 years. To put that in perspective, they won 70 races in the 14 years from 1967-1981. The #21 didn't even qualify for the Daytona 500 in 2008, and this team would have been placed at the very bottom of the totem pole for likely Daytona winners in 2011.
But, the Woods found hope in a newfound partnership with other Ford teams like Roush Fenway, with whom their cars are produced by. It was a lifeline for one of the few single car teams left in NASCAR. The Woods simply couldn't compete on their own anymore against the powerhouses at Hendrick, RCR, Roush, and others. While NASCAR became commercialized and national, the Wood Brothers were seemingly stuck in park in a different age. It was nice to see their car on the track when possible, but the 21 became a glorified backmarker merely turning left a lot of times. Especially in the age of Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick dominance, NASCAR didn't seem like a place for the little guy, or the underdog anymore. That is what made Sunday's Daytona 500 so special. It spun donuts in the face of everything that has been missing in NASCAR the last few years during the slide of ratings and interest.
Too many cookie cutter drivers, check. Trevor Bayne, an enthusiastic 20 year old rookie, is anything but cookie cutter. His youthful exuberance, passion, and humility won't allow it. Here's a kid that can't even buy a drink talking about taking some of his prize money to fund missions in Mexico. Someone who was so caught up in the moment that he couldn't even find victory lane at Daytona. Bayne's cinderella story is anything but another run of the mill, personality deficient, sponsor peddling driver. This isn't crickets chirping for Ryan Newman or Jamie McMurray winning the Daytona 500. Trevor Bayne will hit ESPN tomorrow and was on the front page of cnn.com. I'm sure the talk circuit is in his direct future too. Don't forget, he's 20 years old for crying out loud! In a sport desperate for fresh faces, Trevor Bayne is the best thing to come along in a decade.
Jimmie Johnson = zzzzzzz, check. JJ was a non-factor due to an early crash, and while his five straight championships are the most impressive feat in the sport's history, he's sapped interest out of NASCAR like Chinese water torture. Johnson as a driver, and the leader of the #48 crew makes Tim Duncan look like Snooki. Johnson has been so good that it's been pointless to watch NASCAR because we all know what will happen - at the end of the day, Johnson's car will be out front. WIth him out of the picture on Sunday for most of the race, it gave us a chance to see new drivers like Bayne and David Ragan out front and in the spotlight.
Only a few teams can win, check. 43 teams start a race, but realistically, only half of the field on any given day really has a chance to win. In the past several years, NASCAR fields have been littered with young drivers looking to merely rack up experience, teams with incredibly low budgets, and cars that repeatedly failed to compete. 75 drivers scored points in 2010, only 31 started every race. That's 12 cars every week that are shuffled around at the back of the pack, with the Wood Brothers famous 21 being one of them. Bayne's win in the 500 shows us that the impossible can still happen in NASCAR! The greatest attribute of sports is the chance to compete and the unpredictability that anything can happen. Trevor Bayne and the Wood Brothers proved that on Sunday. Not just the Hendrick, RCR, or Roush cars have to win every week. There's still room for the underdogs after all.
There are no interesting stories, check. With interest falling throughout the last five years, NASCAR fans have been clamoring for something interesting to happen! Enough with the constant points changes, car changes, and driver changes. Enough with the constant tinkering to the rules, that's all become tiresome. Give us something to talk about on the track - besides whether a human soul actually inhabits Jimmie Johnson. The combo of Trevor Bayne and the Wood Brothers shouldn't just captivate NASCAR fans, but sports fans anywhere. Credit Darrell Waltrip and Fox for picking up the story of Bayne throughout the afternoon and amplifying the compelling television that was taking place.
Where will we go from here is anybody's guess. Whether or not the Woods and Bayne be able to score points or run a full schedule is up in the air. Both of their futures are still largely uncertain, and who knows what will happen in the coming weeks and years. But, for today, let's enjoy what happened on Sunday. This was a day to celebrate NASCAR's past, present, and future coming together in one magical race. A young man in the infancy of his career, driving for a team that has been on its deathbed for several years, and winning the sport's most important race. For one afternoon, we went back into NASCAR's golden age and forward with NASCAR's newest and brightest star of the future. A 20 year old kid driving the same car to Victory Lane at Daytona that had last visited in 1976, 15 years before he was born. The best Hollywood screenwriters couldn't have matched it. And, you know what, it may have just made me believe in NASCAR once again.
