DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Trevor Bayne celebrated his Daytona 500 victory by playing basketball with friends, then skateboarding on the infield of NASCAR’s most storied track.
And why not? This is the youngest winner of the Great American Race.
Bayne seemed still in disbelief Monday of his Daytona 500 victory, which came a day after his 20th birthday and in just his second start in NASCAR’s elite Sprint Cup Series.
His parents, who watched the race in the grandstand and fought the crowd to reach Victory Lane, didn’t mind staying up half the night to wash his laundry so there would be clean clothes for the media tour.
Wide-eyed and laughing at the absurdity of his life-changing victory, Bayne was just going with the flow.
“It’s insane, because we were kidding around, ‘Did you bring enough clothes to go if you win the race?’ ” Bayne said. “I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, I’ve got this. I’ve got two T-shirts.’ I thought it was a big joke, but here we are.”
That’s how it seems to go in NASCAR’s biggest race of the season, which has a history of wild finishes and surprising winners. Sunday was no different, with a record 74 lead changes among 22 drivers, and a record 16 cautions that took many of the stars out of contention.
It left a handful of unprovens at the front of the field in the closing laps, with some of the biggest stars in the sport bearing down on their bumpers. Among them was two-time champion Tony Stewart, who even Bayne assumed would pass him during the final two-lap sprint to the finish.
Nobody in those closing laps expected Bayne, driving the famed No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford, to make it to Victory Lane in one of the most difficult Daytona 500s in memory. New pavement made for a fast track that produced speeds over 200 mph throughout Speedweeks and a new style of two-car tandem racing that required intense mental focus and the trust of other drivers.
“One thing I haven’t really talked about is keeping our expectations realistic here,” Bayne said. “We won this race and that sets the bar high, but if we would have finished 15th, we would have been happy. We’ve got to remember that.”
New NASCAR rules made drivers pick just one series to collect points, and Bayne checked the box next to Nationwide. He can change his mind and make a run at the Cup title, but he would not receive retroactive points for the Daytona 500.
He was leaning Monday toward not changing his mind.
“I’d love to run for a championship in either series, so whatever they say I’m good with it,” Bayne said. “But, for now, I think we’re probably just sticking with what we planned.”
It’s not all that simple.
The Woods don’t have funding for a full season, and even though they picked up nearly $1.5 million, they’ll need sponsorship to run all 36 points races.
