FONTANA, Calif. — Trevor Bayne’s winless drought at NASCAR’s national level has been going since June 2013. It will last a little longer, but it almost came to an end on Saturday.
Making his debut for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series, Bayne won the first stage of the Production Alliance Group 300 and finished third in the race. It was his first Xfinity start since 2016, when he ran an extra car for Roush Fenway Racing at Watkins Glen International.
Since famously winning the 2011 Daytona 500, Bayne’s career has failed to live up to expectations. He has two career wins in NASCAR’s second-tier level and not much else to show for it. His 500 victory 11 years ago is his only Cup Series triumph, and he hasn’t raced an entire season since 2017.
In 2018, he started the Cup season as the full-time driver in the No. 6 for Roush, but about a third into the season, the team brought Matt Kenseth back for a second tenure to help boost the organization’s performance and the two split seat time.
Bayne’s career was at a crossroads, and in 2019, he stepped away from racing to open a coffee shop in Knoxville, Tennessee. A year later, Truck Series team owner Al Niece brought Bayne back onto the scene and had him drive eight events to finish the 2020 Truck season.
Now Bayne has the chance to prove himself worthy of a competitive NASCAR ride again. He will drive for JGR six more times in 2022, and so far, he is off to a superb start.
When was the last time you had that much fun in a racecar?
— John Haverlin (@JohnHaverlin) February 27, 2022
“It’s been awhile since I’ve had that much fun doing anything.”
-Trevor Bayne had a great day in Fontana with a P3 result for JGR.#NASCAR pic.twitter.com/prmh8CXGqc
“It’s been a while since I’ve had that much fun doing anything,” Bayne told The Circuit Journal. “It took me like half of the first stage to feel comfortable, and we won the first stage.
“We had a shot to win there at the end, and when they put the speedy dry down there at the bottom, I knew it was going to be a tough battle. I tried to get to the inside of [Cole Custer, race winner] and gave up second.
“But I don’t care about second or third. I’m here to win. It was a good day.”
So, was his performance at Auto Club Speedway a statement for the competition?
“I hope so,” he said. “I don’t know the way people are thinking, and I’m taking this as one race at a time. If something great happens from it, awesome. But it’s great just being here, and that’s good enough for me.”
Bayne will race at Phoenix, Charlotte, Nashville, New Hampshire, Las Vegas, and Homestead in the No. 18 Toyota.
