Trevor Bayne and the Wood Brothers #21 could be in the top 35 in points by the Daytona 500
In spite of having only 18 starts in 36 NASCAR Sprint Cup races the Wood Brothers Racing #21 driven by Trevor Bayne ended last season 37th. in points. An incredible feat and a testament to Trevor Bayne. Winning the Daytona 500 last year helped in a major way. Another incredible feat is they had to qualify on time for every race. At the beginning of next year they might not have too.
NASCAR guarantees a starting position during the first five races of the season to the top 35 cars based on Owners points from the previous season. More importantly this includes the first race of the season, the Daytona 500.
It has just been announced that Trevor Bayne has been hired back to run the Wood Brothers #21 for yet again another partial season. It is virtually guaranteed that Trevor will be able defend his win in the Daytona 500 this year due to the changes that have happened in this NASCAR Silly Season.
To reiterate the #21 car finished 37th in owners points, two positions out of the top 35. The 36th car is the #71 car. It was announced this past week that the #71 car will not race next year. If they don’t sell their car to another team and do not show up at Daytona then the #21 car will be the 36th in owner points. Not quite to the magic #35th but right there.
It may seem reaching but given the current state of silly season there are also four other cars in the top 35 that will not be at Daytona. They are, in order of owner points, the Richard Childress #33, Red Bull #4, Roush #6, and the Red Bull #83. If only one of those four doesn’t show up then Trevor Bayne is in. The odds are definitely in Trevor’s favor.
In order to understand those odds we have to add in speculation. Here it is, take it as you like. It is expected that the owners points for the #33 will be used to get Austin Dillon into the Daytona 500. One of the Red Bull car’s points will be used to get Michael Waltrip into the Daytona 500. That leaves one of the Red Bull cars out or at the very least the Roush #6 car.
If those do not increase the odds enough for you then consider that Roush Fenway Racing is the Flagship Ford teams and I am certain they would do anything for the Flagship Ford (Motorcraft/Quick Lane Fusion) Car. The Roush #6 points will end up on the #21 by either a sale or through attrition guaranteeing Trevor Bayne and the Wood Brothers #21 a starting position in the Daytona 500.
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Trust me, that’s not going to happen. First, it was announced today that Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., the 2011 Nationwide Series champion, will be in the #6 car for the Daytona 500. And you know that Stenhouse is higher in the Roush pecking order than Bayne is, and ever will be, so you know the #6′s points are going to stay right there. And you know a fringe team, possibly even a one-race or start-and-park team will purchase the Red Bull Racing team’s points that aren’t going to Michael Waltrip Racing (possibly NemCo Motorsports’ #87 car, or possibly even the #97 car if NemCo runs two cars for the Daytona 500 due to the Toyota connection), so the Woods wil have to qualify on time or finish in the top two in its qualifying race. But if recent history is an indication, that shouldn’t be much of a problem, as the #21 car has been a bullet the last couple of years in qualifications at Daytona.
Bayne will be in the 500 without a doubt. Like the previous poster said, the car is lightning quick with Roush-Yates HP so there is nothing to be concerned about in that department.
Stenhouse using the #6 points is a done deal. At this point I believe Michael Waltrip is not planning to drive in the 500 (Bowyer, Martin & Truex?). If MWR acquires points from Red Bull Michael will use the points from one car to guarantee Bowyer a starting spot. After that it wouldn’t surprise me if Michael decides to get in a car since he would be guaranteed a starting spot and he is so good at restrictor plate races and this race has a huge payout. Michael is a smart business man. I doubt a small team like NEMCO could pay him more for the points that he’d earn by running the race himself. That leaves the #33 car and as a poster previously stated RCR will probably field a car for Austin Dillon. Even if they don’t use Dillon RCR would be foolish not to start a fourth car in the 500. He has the resources and he certainly wouldn’t want the #21 Ford to benefit. If Childress doesn’t feel Dillon is ready Johnny Sauter would be a great candidate. I agree with the above posters that the #21 will have no problem making the field. They have been bad fast everytime they’ve shown up.