To say Trevor Bayne didn’t expect to win the Daytona 500 is a bit of an understatement. Rookies count it a job well done to finish at Daytona, the idea of one of them winning is unheard of. That’s why Trevor Bayne, who had only been twenty years old for a day when he crossed the finish line, literally didn’t know what to do with himself after he won.
“Am I dreaming? Is this real? I don’t even know where to go,” a stunned Bayne shouted into his radio to his team after winning. And he didn’t, the young driver had to be directed to the victory circle, where he was still to young to drink the celebratory champaign.
Bayne might be the youngest winner in history, but he was working with one of the venerable Wood Brothers Racing team this will be the teams fifth Daytona victory. The last time the Wood Brothers team won was before Bayne was born – when NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee David Pearson won in 1976.
Bayne joked to the press that he was afraid one of his veteran competitors might seek revenge for his win after the race, but the older and wiser racers he beat out are just proud to see new talent entering their sport. Even Jeff Gordon, whose record for winning Daytona at age twenty-five in 1997, thinks highly of Bayne. “I think it’s very cool. Trevor’s a good kid, and I love the Wood Brothers,” Gordon told the press. “I’m really happy for him. And I think it’s great for the sport. To have a young talent like that — he’s got that spark, you know?”
