NASCAR driver Trevor Bayne makes his return to NASCAR; Reflects on conflicts with Roush Fenway Racing
Trevor Bayne entered the NASCAR Cup Series and quickly became the youngest driver to ever win the Daytona 500. Following the 2018 season, Bayne stepped away from the sport.
In his final season, Bayne drove for Roush Fenway Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was struggling with performance and they elected to hire veteran driver Matt Kenseth, who retired at the end of the 2017 season.
At the time, Bayne noted that Kenseth was saying that the car was struggling with the same issues that Bayne himself already noted to the team. He was noticably frustrated with sharing the seat of the No. 6 with Kenseth that year.
For 2019, Bayne did not return to Roush Fenway. Instead, he went into the coffee shop business in Tennessee.
In 2020, Bayne ran a handful of NASCAR Truck Series races with Niece Motorsports. He picked up a 2nd place run at Talladega Superspeedway.
Now, Bayne has returned. He’s running 7 NASCAR Xfinity Series races for Joe Gibbs Racing. He first race took place at Auto Club Speedway.
Trevor Bayne reflects on sharing seat with Matt Kenseth
“I knew they wanted to asses the program to figure out what was going on,” Trevor Bayne told Fox Sports about Roush Fenway Racing signing Matt Kenseth.
“The hard part was that I had no heads up. I was mad. I knew that what I was saying about the cars was true. We quickly found that out with Matt.”
“Now, I know Matt Kenseth got in, Ryan Newman got in, similar issues. In a way, it was good for me though. It almost kinda helped my confidence.”
“I didn’t think it was the end. But, I knew I didn’t wanna just show up to run 20th.”
Bayne has been mostly absent from the sport ever since; Now he returns
“I only went to the race track one time, in all of 2019. Not because I didn’t love racing. But, it was too hard to be around it without being in the car,” Bayne added.
Bayne had medical issues, being diagnosed with MS in 2018. However, that had nothing to do with him leaving the sport.
“In 2018, I felt I was kinda at my peak, at that time. The health stuff had absolutely nothing to do with it. I’ve taken no treatments, I’ve been able to manage it with nutrition.”
Bayne is back in the sport. He’s driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, in what could be the best equipment of his entire career to date.
“It’s almost like my first shot, all over again. In these 7 races, my goal is to win at least 5 of those. I’ve got 7 chances to maybe restart a career.”
Related: Trevor Bayne returns to NASCAR in 2022
Trevor Bayne
2022 Schedule
February 26, 2022
Auto Club Speedway
March 12, 2022
Phoenix
May 28, 2022
Charlotte
June 25, 2022
Nashville
July 16, 2022
New Hampshire
October 15, 2022
Las Vegas
October 22, 2022
Homestead
Related: Trevor Bayne insists his health did not play a role in Matt Kenseth’s return
