(The Spread) – The only one more happy than Trevor Bayne that he won the 2011 Daytona 500 is the suits over at NASCAR. They couldn’t have scripted a better way to start a season that has seen declines in each of the past several years.
Those disenchanted with the reign of Jimmie Johnson now have someone new to root for. Bayne’s win is just what NASCAR needed to bring fans and dollars back to the sport. He came to Daytona this week as a 19-year-old boy and is leaving as a 20-year-old man with possibly the weight of an entire sport on his shoulders.
He’s clean cut, polite and has that “aw shucks” quality companies who want to spend money in NASCAR drool over. He loves his mom and God and prays before races, he’s that Cinderella story NASCAR has been trying to find to distract from Jimmie Johnson’s five-year dominance. Best of all, he’s a good ol’ boy from the south – Knoxville, Tennessee’s (and NASCAR’s) newest fortunate son.
Sure this is only his second career Sprint Cup race and one win does not a superstar make – even if it is the biggest win in NASCAR and possibly all of motor sports. But this kid has the endorsements of some of the biggest names in NASCAR and it’s very rare for the sport’s salty veterans to heap praise on someone this young and inexperienced.
Bayne likely won’t see a full Sprint Cup season materialize this year despite his win as he has already declared himself to run for the 2011 Nationwide Series Championship. But, the future looks bright for Bayne and his unlikely Daytona 500 win may be just what NASCAR needs to bring some fans who have soured back to the sport and also put some new butts in their frequently empty seats.
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