Bayne learning to appreciate slow, steady rise in NASCAR

WHEN A YOUNG racer pops out of nowhere to win the Daytona 500, his or her career should soar.

In Trevor Bayne's case, however, his Sprint Cup racing career stalled after he became, at age 20, the youngest driver 3 years ago to win the Daytona 500. The fault wasn't Bayne's: Blame it on the economy. The Wood Brothers only could afford to field a Cup team for a partial schedule.

Bayne, now 23, had to display remarkable patience for someone his age. Young racers are usually in a hurry, on the racetrack, at the fitness center or shopping at the mall.

"I never wondered if [a full-time ride would occur], just when," Bayne said in a telephone interview Wednesday. "I never doubted that I was capable. There was mostly doubt about the economy, when a brand would get behind us to go Cup racing."

Bayne's dream finally came true last Saturday when Roush Fenway announced he would drive the No. 6 Ford next year with AdvoCare sponsorship. Mark Martin won 35 races in the No. 6 car for Roush Fenway.

AdvoCare sponsors Bayne in the Nationwide Series, racing at Dover International Speedway in Delaware tomorrow afternoon. Bayne is fourth in Nationwide points.

"We had to put the pieces together," Bayne said. "Winning the Daytona 500, maybe we thought we wouldn't have to worry about anything else. Maybe we sat on our heels too much, expecting everything to happen."

While the Knoxville, Tenn., native maintained his confidence about his racing ability, he acknowledged that perhaps he wasn't ready for full-time Cup racing after winning at Daytona.

"I had time to learn and mature," he said. "Driving the [No.] 21 Ford [for the Wood Brothers] was a huge opportunity for me."

Bayne said he is proud to be part of NASCAR's youth movement. He, Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Austin and Ty Dillon, Chase Elliott and Darrell Wallace Jr. are among the drivers fans will be following for the next decade.

"It's cool that this era is happening in NASCAR," Bayne said. "Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have been great for our sport. Now, there are new drivers for fans to relate to. It's like watching football and basketball players in college, then you follow them to the NFL and NBA."

Like most racers, Bayne began racing early, with dirt bikes when he was 4. He said he played baseball for 3 or 4 years, and he was a football quarterback until he was about 12. Then he decided to concentrate on racing.

"One sport was enough for my parents traveling all over with me," he said. "Racing is what I always wanted to do."

While Bayne has been eager to race full time in the Cup series, he said he thinks he has benefited from competing in the Nationwide Series.

"It's enabled me to run a full season and see what it's like racing for a championship," he said.

Next year, Bayne will have Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has a teammate at Roush Fenway. Whether they'll also have Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle in the Roush Fenway stable remains to be seen. Edwards and Biffle, who have won a combined 41 races at Roush Fenway, are negotiating for new contracts.

New Jersey Motorsports Park is featuring a full lineup of racing this weekend.

Canadian Andrew Ranger seeks his fourth consecutive ARCA series victory on the Millville track's 2.25-mile, 12-turn Thunderbolt Raceway in Sunday's Great Railing 150 presented by Barbera's Autoland (1:30 p.m.).

Trans-Am, Pirelli World Challenge racing and SCCA Pro-It tour also are on the schedule. Check www.njmp.com for details.

As previously noted, scheduling a racing weekend the same as NASCAR's at Dover seems puzzling, but NJMP officials expect the sports cars to attract a different crowd from NASCAR.

FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks

Dover International Speedway, Dover, Del.

When: Sunday, 1 p.m.

TV/Radio: Fox 29/WNPV (1440-AM)

Course: 1-mile oval

Distance: 400 laps/400 miles

Forecast: mostly sunny, low 70s

Last year's winner: Tony Stewart

Last year's pole: Denny Hamlin, 157.978 mph

Track qualifying record: Dale Earnhardt Jr., 161.849 mph (September 2013)

Track facts: Tony Stewart led only the final three laps in winning last year's race. Juan Pablo Montoya was second; Jeff Gordon was third. Kyle Busch led the most laps (150) and finished fourth. Jimmie Johnson paced 143 laps but finished 17th. Stewart is a three-time winner at Dover as is Ryan Newman (last W, 2004). Gordon has won four races at the track, but his last W was in 2001 ... Kevin Harvick, a two-time race winner this year, has climbed to 12th in points from 26th five races ago. Harvick has finished second in the last two races ... Dover's race schedule starts with the Lucas Oil 200 Camping World Truck Series race today (5:30 p.m., Fox Sports 1) and tomorrow's Buckle Up 200 Nationwide race (2:30 p.m., ESPN) ... Dover Motorsports Inc. said NeXovation agreed to acquire Nashville Superspeedway and other financial obligations for $27 million in cash.

Wins: Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano, 2 each; Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, 1 each.

Standings

1. Jeff Gordon 432

2. Matt Kenseth 421

3. Kyle Busch 408

4. Carl Edwards 408

5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 394

6. Jimmie Johnson 388

7. Joey Logano 378

8. Brian Vickers 365

9. Brad Keselowski 361

10. Ryan Newman 361

11. Greg Biffle 351

12. Kevin Harvick 345

13. Kyle Larson 344

14. Denny Hamlin 340

15. Austin Dillon 334

Up next: Pocono 400, June 8, Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pa., 1 p.m.; TV: TNT; last year's winner: Jimmie Johnson.