Trevor Bayne will drive Wood Brothers Racing's Ford in the opening five NASCAR Sprint Cup races this season, then make selected appearances throughout the rest of the campaign, the team announced Thursday.
Bayne is expected to make 17 starts and possibly more, with veteran crew chief Donnie Wingo leading the effort.
Bayne, 19, made his Cup debut driving for the organization at Texas Motor Speedway last fall. He made the race based on qualifying speed and finished 17th. NASCAR’s loop data show that Bayne passed 140 cars during that race and was passed only 104 times, giving a difference of 36, best among the 43 race starters.
“It’s pretty awesome that the Wood Brothers have the confidence in me to believe that I can do it as a rookie,” said Bayne, who will turn 20 the day before the Daytona 500. “That says a lot about our relationship already.”
Team co-owner Eddie Wood said NASCAR’s oldest team is excited to get back to the track with its youngest Sprint Cup driver ever.
“We’re really excited to be starting the season with Trevor,” Wood said. “It’s something new for us. We had a good race at Texas last year. That’s where it all started.”
Bayne said he has enjoyed the family atmosphere around the team, which is owned and operated by the Wood family.
“It’s been cool being around the shop,” Bayne said. “It’s really a family deal, and you don’t see that in NASCAR much any more. They still do a great job with the business side of it, but the main focus is on family and how to get the best performance for the team and Ford.”
Bayne has been racing since he was 5 and has three world championships, more than 300 feature wins and 18 state and track championships. He became the youngest top rookie in the Allison Legacy Series and won 14 races, 19 poles and a series championship in two seasons. He was the USAR Pro Cup Series rookie of the year at 15 and debuted in the Nationwide Series in 2009. In 50 Nationwide Series starts, he has six top-five and 13 top-10 finishes and has led 133 laps. He finished seventh in the Nationwide standings last year, his first full-time season.
The Wood Brothers have won 97 Sprint Cup races and 118 poles in Sprint Cup alone since 1953.
