Trevor Bayne, who turned 20 years old Saturday, held off a charging Carl Edwards and David Gilliland in NASCAR’s version of double overtime to win a wild Daytona 500 on Sunday that featured a 14-car crash and a record number of lead changes and caution periods.
Making only his second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start, Bayne won during the second two-lap overtime—known as a “green, white, checker” finish—after the latest in a spree of accidents occurred in the first overtime following the scheduled 200 laps in NASCAR’s crown-jewel race.
Bayne, who became the race’s youngest winner, wasn’t even sure where to find Victory Lane as he steered his No. 21 Ford to meet his thrilled teammates.
“I keep thinking I’m dreaming,” Bayne said in a television interview. “This is just incredible.” Los Angeles Times
With his $1,462,563 payday, Bayne earned more than the Wood Brothers did all of last season — the team’s second consecutive of running part time after a long run as a juggernaut that ran its first Cup race in 1953. Started in Stuart, a tiny hamlet in the southwest corner of Virginia, the team has 98 Cup wins, but Sunday was its first since 2001 — and its first in the Daytona 500 since Pearson defeated Richard Petty in 1976 in one of the race’s most memorable endings (Pearson and Petty crashed on the final lap).
The Wood Brothers’ fifth Daytona 500 win, though, was sweetest. “This is the top of the stack,” co-owner Len Wood said.
Said co-owner Eddie Wood: “You begin to think you can never get back. But you keep trying. Just the fact that you want one more trophy, you just can’t quit.” USA Today
The rookie had been great throughout Speedweeks, even proving his mettle by pushing four-time champion Jeff Gordon for most of a qualifying race, a performance Bayne said convinced the veterans he could be trusted on the track.
“I figured they had a chance after seeing that boy race in the 150s,” said Pearson, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in May. “I talked to him this morning. I told him to keep his head straight and not to do anything crazy. I told him to stay relaxed. I’m proud of him.”
With the win Bayne breaks Gordon’s mark as the youngest winner in Daytona 500 history. Gordon was 25 when he won the 500 in 1997.
“I think it’s very cool. Trevor’s a good kid, and I love the Wood Brothers,” Gordon said. “I’m really happy for him. And I think it’s great for the sport. To have a young talent like that — he’s got that spark, you know?”
Sunday’s race had a record 74 lead changes among 22 drivers, and a record 16 cautions that wiped out many of the leaders, including Earnhardt Jr. on the first attempt at NASCAR’s version of overtime. It put Bayne out front with a slew of unusual suspects.
David Ragan, winless in 147 career starts, was actually leading the field on NASCAR’s first attempt at a green-white-checkered finish. But he was flagged for changing lanes before the starting line, then an accident that collected Earnhardt in the middle of the pack brought out the caution, and Bayne inherited the lead.
But he had two-time series champion Stewart, now winless in 13 career Daytona 500s, lurking behind with veterans Bobby Labonte, Mark Martin and Kurt Busch, who had collected two previous wins over Speedweeks. All were chomping at the bit for their first Daytona 500 title, but Bayne never blinked, holding his gas pedal down wide open as he staved off every challenge over the two-lap final shootout.
David Gilliland finished third and was followed by Labonte and Busch. Juan Pablo Montoya was sixth, Regan Smith seventh, and Kyle Busch, Paul Menard and Martin rounded out the top 10. The Associated Press
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