Roulette Recap follows a randomly drawn NASCAR Xfinity Series driver throughout a race and recaps their efforts. The driver could face calamity on lap one or start from the rear and win the race – there is no telling ahead of time. May the odds be ever in the driver’s favor.
Wawa 250
Daytona marked the first time Trevor Bayne had been on track in the NASCAR Xfinity Series since the Homestead race of 2022. Bayne jumped in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry with no practice time and qualified P8.
Returning to the site of his lone NASCAR Cup Series win (2011), Bayne had to be feeling pretty confident in what he and his team could accomplish.
Before rolling off pit road, Bayne thanked his team and expressed his thankfulness for the opportunity. He also led his team in prayer in preparation for battle on the high banks of Daytona International Speedway.
Stage 1
The green flag dropped and Bayne took off, gaining two spots in the opening lap. Over the next three laps, the positions came and went as quickly as the speeds. On Lap 5, Bayne told his team he was hitting the splitter in the tri-oval.
As Bayne worked with the car to see what it could do, he got loose and went three-wide. With that, he fell to P12 and was stuck in the middle.
On Lap 13, he radioed in with what he was feeling and summed it up with, “The car drives good.” He settled in between Brandon Jones and JJ Yeley with 12 laps to go in the opening stage. At this point, he did some more updating, “It doesn’t seem to go down the straightaways like everyone else, but I get a huge run in the corners.”
Spotter Stevie Reeves let Bayne know that some teams had already come to him to talk about working together, which encouraged Bayne.
With five to go, he was side-drafting with Sammy Smith down the back straightaway. S. Smith eventually jumped up in front of Bayne with four to go. Bayne was trying to make a move with S. Smith but communication was lacking with the JGR teammate.
With two laps remaining, Bayne jumped to the bottom with Parker Kligerman and attempted to make a run for the front from P11. He ultimately went three-wide and was scored P10 to end the stage.
Frustration was high on the No. 19 radio over the lack of teamwork, but all in all, Bayne was happy with his car.
Crew chief Jason Ratcliff told his driver they might be in for a longer stop to make a few adjustments ahead of the next green flag.
Stage 2
Bayne came to his crew for changes, fuel, and tires, ready to take on another 30 laps from a P9 starting position. For a few seconds, he was sitting top of three as Sam Mayer was leading a line of cars through the middle.
Bayne got a reprieve for a few laps, but Lap 11 saw him sitting middle of three. Before he could distance himself from the melee, absolute chaos broke out two rows behind him as an early Big One.
BIG WRECK!
Multiple playoff contenders involved. #NASCAR
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— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 26, 2023
After a lengthy clean-up, Bayne lined up P6 on Lap 51. Within two laps, Bayne was leading the inside lane and with eight to go, he took the lead with an aggressive Kligerman behind him.
Reeves reminded Bayne to not go too far out front but he would need to keep an eye on both lines. Kligerman lost his position to two Kaulig Racing teammates who were on the hunt behind Bayne.
With four to go, Sheldon Creed jumped down and stole the lead. Bayne was working hard to side-draft and get his spot back as he sat middle of three.
A lap later, he was fighting Kligerman and, after a push from Daniel Hemric, resumed the lead back for a second. Ultimately, in the stage-ending chaos, he was shuffled back again. The racing was door to door in the closing lap, with a three-wide battle behind him. Bayne was scored in P7 at the stage break.
Reeves apologized, but Bayne said, “No worries! I learned a lot there!”
In rehashing the closing laps, Bayne said, “That was incredible. The 2 (Creed) just took the lead all on his own. He just jumped down there.”
Stage 3
After a solid stop that had Bayne 10th off pit road, he thanked his team for the quick work and lined up P9 with 35 to go. Immediately, he was three-wide in the midst of a pack of drivers doing the same.
Within three laps, he sitting P7 and his line of JGR teammates was moving forward to retake the lead. With 30 to go, S. Smith took the lead, but half a lap later, Bayne was in the catbird seat.
After side-drafting with Creed, and multiple cars jumping to the bottom line to help out, Bayne regained control of the lead on Lap 74. Bayne was reminded to watch his gap and control the race.
A three-wide battle was breaking out behind him, but Bayne continued to lead. With 22 to go, the top 10 drivers were stretched out to take a quick breath.
Two laps later, the line split, and Sam Mayer was bringing a freight train, but Bayne jumped down to block him.
He was encouraged by Reeves, “Perfect. Perfect.”
Lap 83 saw Mayer take the lead with teammate Justin Allgaier pushing him, but Reeves said, “We’ll get you back in the lead.”
With 15 to go, Allgaier took over the lead and Bayne shuffled to P3 as the intensity ramped up.
One lap later, Bayne got a shove from Creed and was able to reclaim the lead. But once again, Creed cycled back to the front and battled with Bayne as the field sat two-wide.
With each turn, the lead would shuffle between Bayne and Creed. Bayne had secured the lead, but with eight to go, the caution came out as Jeb Burton got loose and took numerous cars with him.
Ratcliff made the call to stay on track and maintain the lead since they were good on fuel. Coming to a green-white-checkered finish, Reeves and Ratcliff were pumping up their driver. Bayne said, “I’m ready. This is the moment I’ve been waiting for for 10 months.”
A Good Night Gone Bad
Just after crossing the start-finish line, the No. 19 went for a spin after contact with Austin Hill. Bayne radioed in that he had significant damage. He came to his crew for repairs and returned a second time after discovering tire smoke. After fixing what they could, Bayne sat P23 for NASCAR Overtime.
Bayne said, “I’m okay Stevie (Reeves), I’m gonna go get us some spots.”
However, before drivers could take the checkered flag, the caution waved as numerous cars crashed when Blaine Perkins turned into Josh Williams, sending Williams airborne.
This, in turn, created a multi-car pile-up, collecting Bayne. Ultimately, this ended his night at Daytona in P28.
Sponsor Shoutout & Social Channels
As NASCAR fans know, sponsors make the sport go ’round. We want to give a shoutout to He Gets Us for sponsoring Trevor Bayne and the No. 19 team at Daytona.Â
Keep up with Trevor Bayne (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) and Joe Gibbs Racing (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) on all their social channels.
