Trevor Bayne – Daytona 500 Advance
Team: No. 6 AdvoCare Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Matt Puccia
Twitter: @Tbayne6, @Bayne6Team and @RoushFenway
Daytona 500 – Sunday, February 21 at 1:00pm EST. on FOX
Duel 150 Qualifying Races – Thursday, February 18 at 7:00pm EST. (Bayne will be in Duel No. 1)
ADVANCE NOTES
Bayne at Daytona
Trevor Bayne returns to the sight of his first career NASCAR victory and one of the biggest wins in sports history; Daytona International Speedway (DIS). Bayne scored one of the biggest upsets in professional sports history in the 2011 running of the Daytona 500. Running up front for virtually the entire race, the young driver held off the field in a feverish green-white-checkered finish to earn his place in the annals of NASCAR history. Bayne capped off a dominant Speedweeks effort by becoming the youngest winner in the history of the “Great American Race” at 20 years and one day old.
Bayne makes his 11th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) start at DIS on Sunday when the green flag drops for the famed Daytona 500. In 10 previous starts at the 2.5-mile superspeedway, Bayne has recorded one win, one top-five and two top-10 finishes.
In his NSCS career on the restrictor-plate tracks of Daytona and Talladega Super Speedway, Bayne has paced the field of 40 for 61.6 miles (24 laps).
In the combined 29 starts at restrictor-plate tracks in the NASCAR XFINITY Series and the NSCS, Bayne has recorded one win, two top-five finishes, eight top-10 finishes and has led for 72 laps.
The Duels
Bayne will take the green flag for his sixth Duel 150 event from the 17th position after qualifying 33rd overall in Sunday’s Daytona 500 qualifying session.
In five previous starts in the duels, Bayne has recorded one top-10 finish, led 38 laps and has earned an average finish of 16.4.
Matt Puccia at Daytona
Puccia will call his ninth NSCS race at Daytona on Sunday afternoon. In eight previous starts, Puccia recorded one top-five and four top-10 finishes as the crew chief for Roush Fenway Racing teammate Greg Biffle.
Sunday also marks the first NSCS race for the new driver/crew chief pairing of Bayne and Puccia.
QUOTE WORTHY
Bayne on racing at Daytona:
“Daytona will forever be a special place for me. Winning here in 2011 is something that I will cherish for the rest of my life. It means the world to me knowing that my name is a part of this track’s history. I love racing here. Restrictor-plate racing is a type that definitely keeps you on your toes the whole day and on edge. Hopefully (crew chief) Matt (Puccia) and I can get this AdvoCare Ford handling great and get that second Daytona 500 victory on Sunday.”
Bayne on 2016 Season:
““I’m excited to get back behind the wheel. We learned a ton in 2015 and I feel like we are in a great position heading into 2016. Everyone at Roush Fenway has worked very hard this offseason and I think that with this new rules package, we are going to have a very good year with this AdvoCare team. Plus, getting to work with (crew chief) Matt (Puccia) this year will be great. We’ve known each other for years and I feel like we will be able to communicate very well together. He has had a lot of success in the past and hopefully we can only continue that success this year.”
