Sunday, May 30, 2010

Trevor Bayne - Charlotte Race Report

  • Trevor Bayne, No. 99 OUT! Pet Care Toyota Camry - finished 17th - now 14th in points.

Trevor Bayne Race Summary:    After announcing a new partnership with OUT! Pet Care products this week, Diamond-Waltrip driver Trevor Bayne qualified the No. 99 Toyota on the outside of the front row. He quickly realized he had a tight-handing Camry and was 15th when green-flag pit stops began on lap 57. Crew chief Jerry Baxter made several adjustments over the next couple of pit stops and the No. 99 OUT! Pet Care Toyota came to life 100 laps into the race. Bayne was making his way through the field until he made slight contact with the wall and suffered a right-rear flat. The OUT! Pet Care over-the-wall crew repaired the No. 99 Toyota and Bayne was forced to restart 20th. The damage did not affect the No. 99 Toyota and he was listed 14th with 25 laps remaining. Unfortunately, the No. 43 got into Bayne with nine laps remaining in the race and he was forced down pit road for an unscheduled pit stop. The 19-year-old driver crossed the finish line 17th, one lap down to the leaders.


NNS Racing Results

  • Kyle Busch won the TECH-NET Auto Service 300, his 35th victory in 185 NNS starts

  • This is his fifth victory and ninth top-10 finish in 2010

  • This is his sixth victory and 11th top-10 finish in 14 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Kyle Busch ties Mark Martin with the series most wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

  • Brad Keselowski (second) posted his fifth top-10 finish in eight races at CMS.

  • Joey Logano (third) posted his second top-10 finish in four races at CMS.

  • Justin Allgaier and Ryan Newman rounded out the top five

  • The race featured 10 lead changes among seven drivers.

  • The race was slowed by seven cautions for a total of 28 laps.

  • NASCAR estimated 40,000 race fans in attendance at Charlotte.
TREVOR BAYNE, No. 99 OUT! Pet Care Toyota

  • Bayne started second and finished 17th

  • Fought a tight-handling race car for most of the race

  • Went a lap down to the leaders on Lap 60

  • Was the Lucky Dog on the lap 101 caution

  • Slapped the wall on lap 138 and brought out the caution

  • Worked his way into the top 15 before the 43 caused him to hit the was again

  • Crossed the finished line 17th one lap down to the leaders
BAYNE QUOTE: “Our OUT! Pet Care Toyota was a little tight at the start of the race. I started running up top about 40 laps into the race and we were really fast. However, when you run up high you have a chance on hitting the wall and that is just what we did. I learned a lot today that I can carry over to the October race here.”

Thursday, May 27, 2010

OUT! PET CARE JOINS DIAMOND-WALTRIP RACING

OUT! PET CARE JOINS DIAMOND-WALTRIP RACING


AS A PRIMARY SPONSOR ON TREVOR BAYNE’S NO. 99



Concord, N.C. – Diamond-Waltrip Racing announced today that OUT! Pet Care, a pet products company based in Dallas, will join Trevor Bayne’s No. 99 Toyota Camry as a primary sponsor beginning this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.



The OUT! Pet Care decals will adorn the No. 99 Diamond-Waltrip Racing Toyota in 18 of the final 24 races in the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series season, beginning this week in Charlotte. OUT! Pet Care along with Aaron’s gives Bayne a full season of sponsorship in his first full season driving the No. 99.



“This isn’t just great news for Diamond-Waltrip Racing,” said team owner Gary Bechtel. “It’s also a home run for the NASCAR Nationwide Series. A high quality, growth-oriented company like OUT! Pet Care choosing Diamond-Waltrip and NASCAR Nationwide Series to advance their product line is a supreme honor and speaks well for the future of our sport.”



OUT! Pet Care President and CEO, Roger Morgan, explained why the company finds Bayne, Diamond-Waltrip Racing and the Nationwide Series attractive.



“Trevor and Diamond-Waltrip Racing are a great fit for the OUT! Pet Care brand and we’re excited to partner with this great American sport. As a pet care company that produces product like pet stain and odor removers, training pads, and outdoor waste pick-up products, we’re devoted to making pet ownership easier. Knowing that NASCAR fans are loyal pet owners, we’re eager to connect with them like never before with fun promotions, contests, and product giveaways.”



Bechtel, and his son Blake, along with Michael Waltrip Racing formed Diamond-Waltrip Racing to field cars for the 19-year-old Bayne in 2010. Bayne rewarded the support with flashes of brilliance in his 26-race career including a sixth-place finish at Las Vegas in February.



“Gary Bechtel has done a great job putting this program together and he is the reason I am here,” Bayne said. “Adding such a cool company as OUT! Pet Care just makes what I do all that more fun. I love animals. My dog, Biscuit, still lives in Tennessee so I don’t get to see him as much as I want to with all the traveling we do in NASCAR. But, he’ll be riding with me on the track this week. We’ve got a photo of Biscuit on the car, as our Top Dog of the Week.”



OUT! Pet Care was started to fill a need for pet owners - a helpful way to clean up after and train your pet conveniently and practically. Specially formulated OUT! cleaning products are designed to take care of the unique accidents that pets have. OUT! also provides training solutions including the leading training pads on the market, as well as solutions for picking up after pets outdoors. Practical and easy-to-use products, for clean smelling, trained happy pets and spotless homes. Visit www.outpetcare.com to find out more.



###

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Trevor Bayne - Charlotte Preview


CORNELIUS, N.C. — Diamond-Waltrip Racing driver Trevor Bayne believes he will end his recent run of late-race, bad luck this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The 19-year-old owns a top-10 and five top-15 finishes in six races on the high speed 1.5-mile ovals like Charlotte. Bayne earned a career-best finish of sixth at the 1.5-mile Las Vegas track in February.


The Knoxville, Tenn. native said he will put extra effort into surviving the closing laps of Nationwide Series races. He saw a top-10 finish slip away at Dover when an accident dropped him to 29th. A week before at Darlington a collision with another car in the closing laps saw him fall the top six to a 16th-place finish.

Bayne is Nationwide Insurance’s “Driver of the Week” and will participate in a live web chat at noon on May 26. Log on to www.nascarnationwideseries.com to join the chat and ask Bayne questions about his adventures on and off the track.



QUOTES

TREVOR BAYNE ON GETTING A SOLID FINISH THIS WEEKEND: “Our goal this week is to finish the race in one piece. Diamond-Waltrip Racing and Jerry Baxter have built some really fast race cars. We just need to start getting the finishes we deserve. We have been running really strong lately but just haven’t been able to be there at the end. We have put ourselves in some bad situations but I think we need a little luck on our side as well. I think if we can stay in the top 10 throughout the entire race that will keep us out of a lot of trouble. So our main goal this week is to qualify strong and try and stay as close to the top 10 as possible.”

TREVOR BAYNE ON CHARLOTTE: “I grew up going to races at Charlotte so it’s really cool to finally get to race there. I took a Richard Petty car around the track once but it doesn’t really compare. It’s going to be awesome to take the No. 99 Toyota out there and make some laps. I think Charlotte is going to fit my driving style. I really like Atlanta and Texas and Charlotte seems to be another one of those fast mile-and-a-half race tracks.”

ON BEING NATIONWIDE DRIVER OF THE WEEK: “I think this is a really cool opportunity that Nationwide is giving each of the drivers. I have been able to give a little behind the scenes of my life with the flip camera they proved me. I believe you can see some of that footage on www.NASCARnationwideseries.com. I can’t thank Nationwide enough for all the support they give our teams each week.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

  • Diamond-Waltrip Racing is owned by Gary and Blake Bechtel along with Michael Waltrip Racing. It fields Toyota Camry's out of the MWR shop in Cornelius, N.C. The Bechtels have owned cars in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series since 1990. The Morgan Hill, California residents’ teams have visited victory lane 10 times in the Nationwide Series.



  • Bayne will sign autographs at Nationwide Insurance’s display at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s fan interactive area on Saturday at 11:50 a.m.



  • Bayne will again wear rookie stripes on his No. 99 Diamond-Waltrip Racing Toyota this weekend in Saturday’s 300-mile Nationwide race. Bayne is making his first career start at the 1.5-mile oval.



  • Bayne owns 26 NNS starts. He has a pole (Indianapolis), three top-10s (Indianapolis, Richmond and Las Vegas), 11 top-15s and has led 34 laps. His average starting spot is 12th and a finishing spot of 18th.



  • Bayne is seventh among the drivers only competing in the Nationwide Series.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Trevor Bayne New Car Transcripts


TRACEY JUDD: We're now joined by Trevor Bayne in our NASCAR Nationwide Series, one of our series' only regulars driving the No. 99 Diamond Waltrip Toyota. Trevor, it's been an exciting day and a half for you out here so far in the NASCAR Nationwide Series new car, so why don't you tell us about how things have gone for you.


TREVOR BAYNE: It has. It feels hot today, but I can promise you it was hotter inside of my race car when it was on fire. You know, luckily it didn't really mess anything up too bad because we've got it back in action today.

We missed out on a lot of practice time yesterday in the draft, so we kind of started at square one today where everybody else had already had laps and kind of dialed their cars in. And I heard all the drivers in the garage, even Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards are saying things are loose, so I'm like, all right, they must be pretty loose, and I got out there and saw for myself, and they are sideways.

So we've been working on it. I think we're a couple steps behind just because we didn't get that practice yesterday, but we're dialing it in pretty good now.

Q. In regards to the fire, drivers are thought sometimes to be fearless, and you're a little bit different than the rest of us chickens out here, but as far as that goes, I've interviewed a lot of drivers over the years, NHRA, IndyCar, and the one comment, they really are fearless, but the one common fear that they have is fire, so could you explain a little bit about that?

TREVOR BAYNE: I don't think anybody likes fire, except Joe Balash; he said he was going to make s'mores next time, just let him know. I mean, I got out of there fast luckily. They've made these cars, the window openings in these new cars so wide that you can get out pretty quick. I didn't get caught up on anything luckily.

But I was getting out of there so fast I ripped the radio harness off my helmet, so that tells you I was a little bit scared. Luckily my left foot and everything is good from last week, so no problem there. But yeah, fire will get to you in a hurry.

Q. What was Carl apologizing to you for?

TREVOR BAYNE: It was just racing incidents. Last week at Dover when we were -- it was late in the race, my car was getting tight, so I was having to run the top and he was loose on the bottom, and it seemed like every straightaway we'd just be at the same speed and we'd come out right together; we'd go into the next corner, and it happened for like five, ten laps, and finally something happened and he got into my door on the straightaway and said he didn't mean to do it that hard. So it's all good; it's just racing.

Normally I have to go apologize to people for something stupid I did. It happens in racing. We're so close, we're running 180 miles an hour at tracks like that, and things are going to happen. So no hard feelings, and we'll just keep racing.

Q. As a follow-up to Dwight's question, would there have been a difference in terms of your ability to get out of the old Nationwide car versus this one?

TREVOR BAYNE: Yeah, I believe so. They're making them safer all the way around, every aspect. That window opening in these cars now is so much wider. I could have seen myself getting caught up in the old car. Something -- I've never been on fire before, so I don't know that. But it seems like that old style car would have been a lot harder to get out of it.

Q. Trevor, the way the track is now, they're going to repave it next year. This is the last go-around on this track. Has the patch been a concern for you at all?

TREVOR BAYNE: No, I mean, I was just talking to Mr. Bragg, and I was telling him that over the patch everything has got the same grip level as the rest of the track. I wish they'd just pave over the surface they've got now and let it get the same bumps and all that stuff because it is fun, like Carl was talking about. This track's characteristics are awesome, and I'm sure over time that it will probably come back to this somehow.

I guess they have to repave because of what happened during the Cup race last year. But the patch is holding up good right now. These cars are hitting the earth pretty good right now, too, so for it to hold up that well is awesome.

Q. Do you like the way the track is now with all the bumps and ruts and this and that?

TREVOR BAYNE: I love it. I love any kind of track where you really have to get up on the wheel because that's what I've done my whole career with short track racing up until this point. So I love the Atlantas and the Daytonas and stuff like that where you have the characteristics where you have to drive the car.

Q. At this point in the season I'd just ask you to reflect where you're at now and where you'd like to be and how you'd like to finish out.

TREVOR BAYNE: Well, last year when we qualified second at Nashville, I thought that was pretty cool. We ran seventh there and got crashed late in the race. That whole season I kind of set a high standard for myself after that. It's easy to do when you have that good of a run. I went into this whole Nationwide deal thinking, all right, top 15s will be great, and then all season long it seemed like we ran top 10. So now I came into this season thinking, all right, we're going to be top 5 every weekend, and I found out how tough this competition really is and how much it steps up every season.

I think we're on par to where we should be being our first full season in the Nationwide Series. I would like to run a little bit better myself, and I know the whole team would. I know we're capable of top 10s every weekend, but we just haven't got those finishes due to silly things taking us out of the race.

It seems like the last two weeks we've run top 10 all day and something small just takes us out right at the end. So I know we deserve to run better.

The guys are working hard at Diamond Waltrip Racing. They've got our Toyotas dialed in awesome. Now we've just got to get those finishes. I'm really fortunate to be in this situation, being 19 years old and being able to run a full-time season in the Nationwide Series, though.

Q. How cool is it for you to be riding around in a cool-looking car with a bunch of other cool-looking cars?

TREVOR BAYNE: It's really cool, man. They did a good job at Toyota of making it look like their Camry on the street, and I think that's what's pretty sweet about these new cars is they look like the street cars a lot better on the front end. The tail end of them, not so much, but the front ends are cool. Everybody did a great job of that. So it's pretty nice to see.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Trevor Bayne Dover Race Report

  • Trevor Bayne, No. 99 Diamond-Waltrip Racing Toyota Camry - finished 29th - now 14th in points.

Trevor Bayne Race Summary:  Diamond-Waltrip Racing driver Trevor Bayne had a fantastic run come to a screaming halt with just two laps remaining in Saturday’s Heluva Good! 200 from Dover International Speedway. The 19-year-old driver started the race 23rd but with a solid race car and great pit stops worked his way into the top 10 with just under 100 laps remaining in the race. Bayne continued to climb the leader board and was shown fifth with 50 laps to go. Unfortunately, on the next-to-last restart, Denny Hamlin got into Clint Bowyer triggering a nine-car accident that collected the No. 99 Diamond-Waltrip Racing Toyota. The accident brought out an 11-minute, 42-second red flag and ended the day for the youngest fulltime driver in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Bayne finished the event 29th seven laps down to the leader. He is now 14th in the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship point standings.

UPDATE: Bayne was send to local hospital for further evaluation on his left foot. X-ray's were negative and Bayne is scheduled to be in the No. 99 during the Daytona New Car test on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.


NNS Racing Results

  • Kyle Busch won the Heluva Good! 200, his 34th victory in 184 NNS starts

  • This is his fourth victory and eight top-10 finish in 2010

  • This is his second victory and seventh top-10 finish in 12 races at Dover International Speedway

  • Ryan Newman (second) posted his second top-10 finish in five races at Dover International Speedway.

  • Jamie McMurray, Reed Sorenson and Jason Leffler rounded out the top five

  • The race featured four lead changes among three drivers.

  • The race was slowed by six cautions for a total of 25 laps.

  • NASCAR estimated 33,000 race fans in attendance at Dover.

TREVOR BAYNE, No. 99 Diamond-Waltrip Racing Toyota

  • Bayne started 23rd and finished 29th

  • Worked his way into the top five with just under 50 laps remaining in the race

  • Ran inside the top 15 for the majority of the race

  • Great pit stop by the over-the-wall crew during the second pit stop helped Bayne pick of five spots on pit road

  • Involved in an incident on the final restart received major damage and was forced behind the wall

  • Finished 29th, seven laps down to the leaders
BAYNE QUOTE: “Our Diamond-Waltrip Toyota was pretty good today. My pit crew did an awesome job for me this weekend. However, we just got tangled up in someone else’s mess. That was probably one of the hardest hits I have taken in a race car. My ankle was a little sore after but it’s going to be okay. Just going to rest it a little over the next couple of days.”

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Trevor Bayne Dover Preview



CORNELIUS, N.C. — Diamond-Waltrip Racing driver Trevor Bayne welcomes new associate sponsor Hershey Milk & Milkshakes this weekend when he makes his first Nationwide Series start on the “Monster Mile” at Dover International Speedway. The familiar Hershey Milk & Milkshakes logo will adorn the rear quarter-panels of the No. 99 Toyota Camry and the company will donate $99 to the Autism Speaks Foundation for every lap Bayne completes in Saturday’s race. The youngest fulltime NASCAR Nationwide Series driver has jumped from 17th to 11th in the championship point standings in the last four weeks by grabbing two consecutive top-15 finishes. Bayne owns one start on the concrete oval in the NASCAR K&N Pro Cup East Series when he started third and finished 21st.


TREVOR BAYNE ON HERSHEY MILK AND MILKSHAKES: “I am really excited to have Hershey Milk and Milkshakes on the car this weekend. I did a few things with them during Daytona so it’s really cool they are coming back on board at Dover. It’s also awesome they are going to donate money to Autism Speaks for every lap I complete. Hopefully, I finish every lap so they will donate $19,800 to the foundation.”

ON DOVER: “The good thing about Dover is that I have been there before. I don’t have a ton of experience there but I do have some track time. For us to be successful this weekend we have to be able to get to the throttle hard and fast up off the corners. I remember in the East Series cars we were almost wide open during qualifying and I don’t think the Nationwide Series cars will be far off that. One thing Martin (Truex Jr.) told me was to make sure you get to the throttle wide open. If you have to get to the gas easy and wait on the car a little off the corners you will get your butt kicked at Dover.”

MOMENTUM AFTER A SOLID RUN AT DOVER: “I think we gained a lot of momentum this weekend. For the past couple of months I think we have been over thinking everything. Jerry Baxter has been in the sport for a long time and he knows what he is doing and I think I have done pretty well behind the wheel. At Darlington we decided to go back to the basics. I focused on driving the race car and Jerry concentrated on making the adjustments. I think that strategy really helped a lot. I never felt like we were chasing our tails. Our car was really strong during the race and we made adjustments to keep up with the track. We didn’t get the finish we deserved but we gained a lot of momentum and confidence for this weekend at Dover.”

PREPARING FOR NEW RACE TRACKS: “The biggest thing is to find someone you can rely on that will give you information you can use. I have some really great teammates at MWR. In the past couple of weeks Martin (Truex Jr.) has really given me some good advice. I also try and bounce around the Nationwide Series garage and ask other drivers. I normally go and talk to some of the guys that ran well at that track in the past. I think talking to some of the veterans of the sport helps me gain their respect on and off the race track.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

  • Crew chief Jerry Baxter led Scott Speed to two top-10 finishes in 2009 at Dover. Last season with five different drivers (Bayne, Patrick Carpentier, David Reutimann, Speed and Michael Waltrip) Baxter grabbed 10 top-10 finishes.



  • Bayne is the fourth highest series-only regular in the driver point standings. He is only two points behind Tony Raines and Jason Leffler, and just 359 points away from Justin Allgaier.



  • Bayne owns 25 NNS starts. He has a pole (Indianapolis), three top-10s (Indianapolis, Richmond and Las Vegas), 11 top-15s and has led 34 laps. His average starting spot is 12th and a finishing spot of 18th.



  • Bayne will sign autographs 8 -9 a.m. Saturday at the NASCAR trackside merchandise trailer in Dover’s FanZone.

Monday, May 10, 2010



  • Trevor Bayne, No. 99 Diamond-Waltrip Racing Toyota Camry - finished 16th - now 11th in points.


Trevor Bayne Race Summary:  Rising star Trevor Bayne almost had the track “too tough to tame” tamed in Friday night’s Royal Purple 200. After qualifying the No. 99 Diamond-Waltrip Racing Toyota in the top 10 for the second consecutive week, the 19-year-old driver settled into the top 12. When the first pit stops rolled around on lap 27, crew chief Jerry Baxter made several adjustments to help with a tight-handling condition. As the race progressed, the No. 99 Toyota continued to gain ground and found itself inside the top-10 racing in fifth with just 50 laps remaining. Unfortunately, Bayne made contact with Matt Kenseth on lap 129 and brought out the eighth caution of the night. The No. 99 Toyota was forced to pit road for right-side tires and had to restart 23rd with just under 15 laps remaining. Bayne was able to grab seven spots in the final laps to finish 16th. He also jumped another spot to 11th in the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship point standings.


NNS Racing Results

  • Denny Hamlin won the Royal Purple 200, his 10th victory in 121 NNS starts.

  • This is his first victory and second top-10 finish in 2010

  • This is his third victory and fifth top-10 finish in five races at Darlington Raceway

  • Kyle Busch (second) posted his third top-10 finish in seven races at Darlington Raceway.

  • Jamie McMurray, Kasey Kahne and Jason Leffler rounded out the top five

  • The race featured nine lead changes among seven drivers.

  • The race was slowed by nine cautions for a total of 42 laps.

  • NASCAR estimated 26,000 race fans in attendance at Darlington.
TREVOR BAYNE, No. 99 Diamond-Waltrip Racing Toyota

  • Bayne started ninth and finished 16th

  • One of only three NNS regulars to start in the top 10

  • Second consecutive top 10 start

  • Ran inside the top 10 for the majority of the race

  • Worked his way into the top five on lap 96

  • Was involved in an incident with Matt Kenseth on lap 129 and was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop for left side tires. Bayne restarted 23rd

  • Grabbed seven spots in the closing laps to finish 16th
BAYNE QUOTE: “The Diamond-Waltrip Toyota was really good all day. We got into Matt (Kenseth) there so we had to come down pit road and took tires and lost track position. We didn’t get the finish we deserved today but it’s definitely a step in the right direction for our team. I just have to thank my guys for all there hard work today.”

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Trevor Bayne Darlington Preview

CORNELIUS, N.C. — NASCAR’s youngest fulltime Nationwide Series driver Trevor Bayne enjoyed his first real look at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., on Monday during a NASCAR media tour. The Nationwide Series will hold its inaugural race at the road course on June. 19.

The Knoxville, Tenn., native raced the track several times on his IRacing (computer) simulator but he said nothing compares to actual track experience. The 19-year-old Diamond-Waltrip Racing driver along with Brian Scott gave several Wisconsin media members rides around the four-mile road course in a Toyota Camry pace car. The drivers showed the media how they planned to race the track and pointed out potential trouble spots. To cap off the event the two young drivers raced go-karts with Bayne grabbing the fast lap of 40.31 seconds. Scott wasn't far behind with a lap of 40.82 seconds.

This weekend is sure to be a learning experience as Bayne makes his first appearance at Darlington Raceway in Friday’s Nationwide Series race. Bayne said he hopes his Darlington performance is the first step toward developing the consistency needed to climb from 12th-place in the championship standings.

QUOTES

BAYNE ON DARLINGTON: “I am not sure what to expect at Darlington. I am pretty sure I will have a Darlington stripe before the first practice is over. I am really excited about racing there. It has such a rich history. It’s one of those tracks that all the drivers seem to talk about. Since we get an extra set of tires this weekend we are going to try and make the most laps we can. I think track time is going to be really important for us this weekend. We need to get a good starting spot and just try and stay out of trouble.”

BAYNE ON ROAD AMERICA: “Road America was awesome. It’s a very high speed road course. There are a lot of elevation changes and some spots that could potentially be dangerous. The part of the track that stuck out to me the most were turns five and six. You have to get your car slowed down to get through five and then you have to remember the blind turn that is after the hill on six. The car is going to get really light coming up the hill. You have to slow down heading up the hill or you won’t make it. I think if you can stay on the race track at Road America you can bring home a top-10 finish.

BAYNE ON THE 2010 SEASON: “We have run OK this season. We have had some really good runs and some really bad runs. We need to find some consistency. Right now, we are a top-10 team and we need to find a way to become a top-five team. I feel like we have made a lot of progress as a team since last season but we still need to keep moving forward. I get frustrated because we haven’t made it to victory lane yet but I need to remember most of the guys that are beating us each week have a lot more experience than I do. Our goal at the beginning of the year was to finish in the top five in the point standings so we aren’t to far off.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

Bayne will again wear rookie stripes on his No. 99 Diamond-Waltrip Racing Toyota this weekend in Friday’s 200-lap Nationwide race. Bayne is making his first career start at the track “too tough to tame.”

Crew chief Jerry Baxter led David Reutimann to a third-place finish in the 2008 race at Darlington Raceway. That season the duo grabbed a pole (Chicago), eight top-fives, 15 top-10s and finished seventh in the championship point standings.

Bayne is the fifth highest series-only regular in the driver point standings. He is only 12 points behind Tony Raines, 23 points back of Brian Scott, 44 points away from Brendan Gaughan and just 357 points away from Justin Allgaier.

Bayne owns 24 NNS starts. He has a pole (Indianapolis), three top-10s (Indianapolis, Richmond and Las Vegas), 11 top-15s and has led 34 laps of competition. He has a starting average of 12th and a finishing average of 18th.

This weekend, Bayne’s No. 99 Toyota will run a plain hood with Diamond-Waltrip logos on the quarter panels in hopes to show potential sponsors inventory is available. Currently, Aaron’s is scheduled to sponsor the No. 99 in six of the final 27 races. Those races include: Kentucky, New Hampshire, Chicago, Iowa, Gateway (2) and Phoenix.