In a day of records where crashes had drivers seeing too much yellow, Trevor Bayne, a 20 year-old rookie was the first to see the black and white of the checkered flag to take NASCAR’s biggest race earlier today at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Crossing the finish line, the Knoxville, Tennessee-native, who was just a teenager two days ago, screamed into his radio: “Are you kidding me?!” Then needed directions to locate Victory Lane.
Dale Earnhardt Jr and David Ragan were rolling among the contenders, but for a race that had a record 74 lead changes among 22 drivers, and a record 16 cautions that wiped out many of the leaders, Bayne suddenly found himself out front among a handful of seasoned racers like Tony Stewart (now winless in 13 career Daytona 500s) Bobby Labonte, Kurt Busch and Mark Martin. Yet the rookie remained poised in this battle of attrition and held off every challenge over the two-lap final shootout.
In just his second Sprint Cup Series start, Bayne becomes the youngest winner in the 53 year history of the event. Four-time champion Jeff Gordon previously held the record when he won the 500 in 1997 at age 26.
