Trevor Bayne

November 9th, 2009

It’s hard to imagine a young driver with more championships (22) than his age. Since Trevor Bayne turned five-years-old, he has been wheeling anything he gets his hands on.

In the eight years that he competed on the go-kart circuit, Bayne earned three World Championships with over 300 feature wins and 18 State and Track Championships combined. During that time, Bayne also learned the value of dedication and discovered the joy of success that would transform to the fierce competitor that defines Trevor Bayne.

From there, it was the Allison Legacy Race Series, where a 13-year-old Bayne became the youngest top rookie in the series. Over his two year stint in the series, the Knoxville, Tenn., native notched 14 wins, 19 pole positions and 30 top-five finishes in only 41 starts. Additionally, the young phenom became the series’ National Champion in 2005.

After conquering his opponents in the Allison Series, Bayne made a successful transition to the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series Southern Division. At 15, he again was the youngest in series’ history to earn top rookie honors.

Bayne’s rapid climb toward a career in NASCAR got a boost when Dale Earnhardt Inc. signed the youngster to its driver development program in 2008. That year he began competing in the NASCAR Camping World East where he grabbed his first series win at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway on July 21. He went on to earn six top-five and seven top-10 finishes and finished fourth in the NASCAR Camping World East point standings.

In 2009 Bayne started off the year by finishing second in the Toyota All-Star Showdown on Jan. 24 at Irwindale (N.C.) Speedway. Due to his performance at the Showdown, the young Bayne captured the Sunoco Rookie of the Race honors and attracting the attention of many.

In early 2009, with economic downturn, Bayne learned that he was without a ride with DEI and was in search of his future.

He would make his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut March 21st at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway where he finished 23rd driving Jimmy Mean’s No. 52 entry. However, NNS career really didn’t start until he was tabbed to run a part-time schedule for Michael Waltrip Racing in the No. 99 Toyota Camry.

He started his stint behind the No. 99 Toyota Camry with a bang by grabbing the outside pole at Nashville Superspeedway on June 6. However, he was caught up in a wreck and finished 28th. His other two events, Kentucky and Milwaukee, the young gun stared in the top 10 and finished 12th.

As he continues to raise the bar at the wheel, Bayne still has many more chapters to fill and championships to win. Where the Trevor Bayne story will end is left to the imagination and only time will tell…