After making nine starts for Joe Gibbs Racing in the No. 18 Xfinity Series car, Trevor Bayne returns to the team in the 19 car. The 2011 Daytona 500 winner, and youngest ever, has two career wins in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Trevor Bayne was excellent in his nine starts last season for JGR. He didn’t get a win, but he finished with five top-5s and two additional top-10s. This time around Bayne is going to race at Daytona, this weekend, actually. He will then hop in the car three weeks later at Bristol. Finally, he will make a start at Texas where he won in the 2011 season.
Joe Gibbs Racing is excited to have Bayne back in their car. Many fans are excited about seeing him race again, too.
If Trevor Bayne rallies off another couple of top-5 finishes or puts the 19 in victory lane like Ryan Truex did at Dover, one has to wonder if he will get looks for a full-time ride. At 32, Bayne has a lot of racing years left in him. In fact, he’s only a year older than Truex.
Look at the season that Parker Kligerman is having in the Xfinity Series. He’s on the cusp of making the playoffs and is working as an NBC analyst and pit reporter from time to time. Kligerman has been a great addition to Big Machine Racing and will return to the team in 2024.
Could Trevor Bayne revive his career in the same way?
Trevor Bayne will be competitive for JGR
Just as he was a year ago, I expect Bayne to be competitive in that 19 car. It has been a very fast car. This season, Ryan Truex and Joe Graf Jr. have both gotten behind the wheel and been fast on numerous occasions. Let’s not forget how quick that car was for Ty Gibbs on the road courses.
Trevor Bayne will have a car setup to run in the top-5 and if he wheels it around well enough, he could win. The Xfinity Series is incredibly competitive this season. There have been some great battles at the end of races. However, there are still a lot of young drivers that often make big mistakes.
Bayne will be back at Daytona this weekend and that alone has to feel special. As a Daytona 500 winner, he will always have that honor and Daytona will likely always feel like home. He’ll be mixing it up with the Xfinity Series’ best like Austin Hill if he wants a checkered flag.
I’d like to see that battle go down to the checkered flag, actually. However, with the way Daytona has been in recent years, we’ll be lucky to see the white flag before two overtime restarts.
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