Bayne Ready To Make The Most Of His Chances

Trevor Bayne is an All-Star. This time for real.

Bayne was eligible to compete in the Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway last May, but the annual event, one of the highlights of the NASCAR season, fell during the period in which Bayne was sidelined with health issues.

This year, he has no physical problems, he has a strong car -- and, now, he has a sponsor.

Good Sam/Camping World recently announced that it will join the Wood Brothers team and Bayne for a four-race sponsorship that will put Bayne on track for the All-Star Race May 19 at CMS and in Sprint Cup points events Sept. 2 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Sept. 16 at Chicagoland Speedway and Oct. 13 at CMS.

The new sponsorship, in addition to the Woods’ connection with Ford’s Quick Lane service, extends Bayne’s part-time Cup schedule with the Woods to 16 races. And it puts the 21-year-old in one of the season’s spotlighted races, giving him another chance to shine in a schedule that is necessarily limited by the team’s sponsorship.

“I’m really excited for that one,” Bayne said of the All-Star Race. “It’s not for points; it’s for wins. Everybody’s on the same playing field. It’s short runs, and we always seem to be better at that.

“It’s a great race. The All-Star Race is just fun. Everybody wants to be part of that.”

The All-Star Race is scheduled to cover 90 laps in segments of 20, 20, 20, 20 and a final 10-lap shootout.

Although Bayne’s career highlight -- the stunning win in last year’s Daytona 500 -- occurred over 500 miles, he said he’s attracted to short runs and that the No. 21 team’s strength has been in that direction.

“Growing up short-track racing, you got to go for it,” he said. “The 10-lap shootout at the end, that’s what it’s about. Something I’ve really worked on the last few years is short runs, and our car has been fast on those.”

The Wood Brothers team has been NASCAR’s most famous “part-time” team for years. One of the sport’s bedrock organizations, the team’s recent seasons have been limited in quantity but not in quality. The best example of that, clearly, is Bayne’s landmark victory -- as a 20-year-old -- in the 2010 Daytona 500.

The arrival of additional sponsorship will give Bayne hundreds of additional laps on the track this season, and the Woods are pursuing more sponsor dollars to hopefully stretch the schedule beyond its current 16.

Meanwhile, the plan continues -- to field strong cars at the races that are on the No. 21 schedule.

“We want to run them all, but we don’t want to do it the wrong way,” said Len Wood, one of the team’s owners. “If you don’t have enough money to do it properly and spread yourself thin, you end up doing a bad job.”

Bayne ran four of the season’s first 10 races.

Although the team would prefer to have perfect attendance, Wood said it doesn’t suffer from its abbreviated schedule, in part because of its connection with Roush Fenway Racing.

“Even though we didn’t go to Richmond (prior to its Talladega run), we have all the notes and know everything that went on there,” Wood said. “Does Trevor get all the seat time? No. But we keep up. And we’re working on more races. Everything just has to work out to make it happen.”

Bayne, who also runs a part-time schedule in the Nationwide Series for Roush Fenway, said he would benefit from sitting on the starting grid every week but that he’s pleased with how things have developed under limited circumstances.

“We’d definitely be better off to run every weekend,” Bayne said. “You get momentum. You get chemistry. You start working to figure out what I need in the car. You just get better as a whole.

“Experience is a big part of this sport. It’s tough not running every weekend, but I think we’ve done OK for running like we do. I can’t wait until I get to run a full-time schedule.”

Even though Bayne is only 21, he’s used to making laps every week.

“What I miss about it is being at the racetrack,” he said. “I’m a race car driver. Growing up, I was racing 40 weekends of the year in go-carts. I’ve been used to running full-time schedules and running for championships. That gives you something else to run for.

“I want to be somebody who is contending for championships. It’s great to go for race wins, but it’s tough. I can’t wait to get that opportunity to battle for points.”