Bayne’s Whirlwind Week Ends With Crash at Phoenix

Trevor Bayne

Trevor Bayne’s been saying all along that there would be highs and lows in his first year driving the Wood Brothers No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion.

But he wasn’t counting on them coming so close together. Just a week after his thrilling victory in the Daytona 500 and weeklong media blitz, Bayne experienced a humbling disappointment in the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. He got off to a bad start, spinning during practice on Friday, and his poor luck plagued him the rest of the weekend.

He started Sunday’s race in a back-up car and got into the top 10 at one point through pit strategy, but his race ended on Lap 50 when he tangled with Travis Kvapil and backed the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Fusion into the wall, becoming one of a host of drivers who headed to the garage prematurely.

Bayne, who was racing with the No. 13 of Casey Mears, appeared to move to get back in line but collided with the oncoming No. 38 Ford of Kvapil.

“After that, there was nothing we could do," said Bayne, who finished 40th. “I tried to stay in the gas and keep it turning, but it just backed into the wall."

But the rookie driver remained optimistic –and realistic – as he now turns his attention to next week’s Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where he finished sixth last year in his only start at that track. And it’ll mark the Wood Brothers’ return to the intermediate, 1.5-mile tracks, where they’ve done the most racing in recent years.

“That’s tough coming off of our high at Daytona to come to this, but we’ve got a great race team behind us," Bayne said. “We’ll be back at Vegas. I hate it ended this way this weekend, but we’ll be back."