Thursday, January 05, 2012

Bayne Re-Ups With Wood Brothers Racing

In an off-season filled with several surprising driver changes, there’s one combination that isn’t about to break up. Trevor Bayne will remain in the seat of the Wood Brothers No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion.

Bayne, who delivered the Woods their fifth Daytona 500 triumph in just his second start in the No. 21 Ford, said he’s pleased to be putting any off-season uncertainty behind him. “I’m excited,” he said. “It’s a big deal for me. It’s what I had hoped for. We’re all excited to be back together.”

Team co-owner Eddie Wood said he too is pleased to have Bayne back behind the wheel of his family’s race car. “It’s taken a long time to get to this announcement, but it’s good to be back together,” Wood said. “We all wanted to do what was best for Ford Motor Company and its young drivers, and to be sure everybody had a place to race.”

For one of the younger drivers in the Sprint Cup Series, driving for the sport’s longest tenured team is something he appreciates more as time goes by. He was made even more aware of the team’s history and heritage -– and its long-standing relationship with Ford Motor Company -– when he watched a video on the team’s history at the company Christmas party.

“There’s no question at all that since the beginning, the Woods and Ford were going to stick with each other,” he said. “The Woods are such a great racing family, and it’s amazing that they’re the only one of the original teams that has survived since the beginning.”

But the Woods and Bayne aren’t just interested in celebrating the past. Beginning next week, they’ll be back at Daytona International Speedway for Preseason Thunder testing and trying to figure a way to adapt to a new rules package and defend their 500 victory.

“It’s going to be very different at Daytona,” Bayne said, referring to a rule change that will block off air to the car’s radiator and thereby limit the two-car tandem racing that Bayne so quickly adapted to. “It’ll be like starting all over again, but that’s OK.

“We’ll just go try to do it again.”

7 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:37 PM

    Now, if he could just pay attention and not bang into anyone this year.........you cannot live on one win forever.


    Doug in NJ

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  2. Anonymous6:31 PM

    U can when its the Daytona 500 !!

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  3. Anonymous6:46 PM

    Darn right they re-uped him!!! Doug in NJ 1 win is better than about 30 or more of the sprint cup drivers currently racing.

    Nancy K

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  4. Anonymous8:26 PM

    Love Babyboy Bayne

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  5. Dipship8:32 PM

    In baseball an error can cause a run to score and that run can win the game, a win regardless how it happens is still a win! People will say the only reason Mr Bayne won the Daytona 500 was because he was pushed to the win, regardless if he was pushed to the win, a win is still a win! Keep up the good hard work Mr Bayne, you do NASCAR proud!

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  6. Anonymous8:53 PM

    If I was Mr Sprint Cup owner and I had a car that was funded for the amount of races I wanted to be in I would def put a clean cut kid like Trevor Bayne in my ride. Hes a much better ambassador to his sport, manufacturer, and sponsors than some other options..

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  7. Any ride is a good ride these days. He was capable of winning the second race at Daytona until Keslowski spun him early. Rick

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