Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne is young; so young that his favorite television show; according to the telecast of the premier NASCAR race on Sunday.Yes, three days ago Bayne became the seventh driver to earn his first win at the Daytona 500, doing it in just his second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start. Trevor also became the youngest winner in Daytona 500 history just one day after his 20th birthday.
The driver of the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford car recorded the team’s 600th victory.
And on Tuesday afternoon, he joined the media for a conference call.
By Paul M. Banks
Bayne talked about how big this win was for his team, and what the highlights of the past day and a half have been for him.
I was nervous in my interviews because I wanted to do it justice, just explain how big of a deal this was for the Wood Brothers and Donnie Wingo. I was scared to take any credit because I felt weird coming in winning our first one with all the other drivers that have been doing this for so long.
Now after seeing their support, they helped me realize we did earn this thing. I’ve been working at it since I was five years old. This team, there’s nobody that deserves it more than Leonard, Eddie, Glen, Len Wood, and Donnie Wingo, his 31st Daytona 500.
The high point was when the White House called and said the President was going to want to talk to me in the next couple days. I haven’t talked to him yet. I had no idea who it was. Just a private number came up on my phone. Jimmie Johnson called, Jeff Gordon. All of them have been showing their support, but that one was the one that shocked me the most.
The Wood Brothers were once a storied team in NASCAR that has fallen on hard times to the Hendrick Motorsports and Jack Roushes of the world. The Woods were legends in the 1960s and 70s, but tough economic times have led to their decline in the racing pecking order today. And Bayne himself has seen some really hard times- he was out of a racecar for sixth months, and dropped from Waltrip racing. So his story really is the quintessential underdog tale.
“before this ever happened, I had a meeting with some of the people that are running my business stuff, running my financial and everything. My dad was involved. We sat down and we said, What is the goal of Trevor Bayne as a company, as a person, as anything?
I told them, I said, The goal, this is going to sound weird, but it’s not to be the best racecar driver, the most marketable, the most popular, but it’s to build a platform and let God use us on the platform that He’s building, which might require me to become the best racecar driver or be the most marketable or most popular, whatever it is. I just want to stand on the platform He’s putting under me.”
Finally, you Indianapolis Colts and Tennesee Volunteers fans, you’ll enjoy this Q and A.
Trevor, I believe NASCAR is off the week before Bristol. Peyton Manning has mastered the art of getting back to Knoxville under the radar. Will you try to get back here at all? How much more challenging will that be to live a normal life in your native hometown than it was maybe last year?
Oh, man, I can’t wait to get back to Knoxville. I wish I was there this week. All my friends have been sending me pictures of billboards, movie signs, school signs. I can’t thank Knoxville enough for the support they’ve given me through the years, not just for this win, but all along I have people that I grew up with, from church, family. I’m sure I’m going to try to get back. I don’t know when it’s gonna be. Like I said, I wish I was there this week to celebrate with everybody because I hear it’s pretty awesome in Knoxville right now. I love that town and can’t wait to get back.
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net. He is also a regular contributor to the Tribune’s Chicago Now network, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker Network, and Fox Sports.com
He does a weekly radio segment on Chicagoland Sports Radio.com and Cleveland.com
You can follow him on Twitter @thesportsbank