For the first time in six years, Trevor Bayne will be returning to the NASCAR Xfinity Series after it was announced that the 2011 Daytona 500 champion from Knoxville, Tennessee, will be campaigning in seven Xfinity events in Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Toyota Supra sponsored by Devotion Nutrition this upcoming season.
Bayne’s first run with Joe Gibbs Racing will occur at Auto Club Speedway on February 26 followed by Phoenix Raceway on March 12. Following a one-month break, he will return at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 28 before competing at Nashville Superspeedway on June 25, New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 16, Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 15 and at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 22. Veteran Jason Ratcliff will return to JGR to serve as crew chief for Bayne and the No. 18 Toyota Supra that will be piloted by multiple competitors throughout the 2022 Xfinity Series season.
The news comes as Bayne returns to NASCAR following a one-year absence. His last campaign in the sport was during the latter half of the 2020 Camping World Truck Series season, where he competed in eight of the final nine events with Niece Motorsports. During this stint, he recorded a season-best runner-up result at Talladega Superspeedway along with a 10th-place result at Kansas Speedway, both in October.
“Returning to NASCAR with Devotion Nutrition and Joe Gibbs Racing is beyond huge for me,” Bayne said. “Devotion is a super passionate family-run business with a mission to help people live a healthy lifestyle. Their passion is something I certainly relate to. Over the past three years, I didn’t know if I’d ever get an opportunity to race for wins again, but my desire to do so never faded. I’m so excited to have this opportunity to work with Jason [Ratcliff] and everyone at JGR. I want nothing more than to come back stronger than ever and put that Devotion Nutrition GR Supra into victory lane.”
Bayne’s last recorded start in the Xfinity circuit was at Watkins Glen International in August 2016, where he piloted Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 60 Ford Mustang to a fifth-place result. Since making his series debut at Bristol Motor Speedway in March 2009 through Watkins Glen in 2016, Bayne has made a total of 152 career starts in the Xfinity circuit. During this span, he has achieved two career victories while driving for Roush Fenway Racing (Texas Motor Speedway in November 2011 and Iowa Speedway in June 2013). He has also recorded seven poles, 25 top-five results, 73 top-10 results, 485 laps led, an average-finishing result of 13.5 and two career-best sixth-place results in the final standings (2013 and 2014).
In addition to the Truck and Xfinity circuits, Bayne has made a total of 187 career starts in the NASCAR Cup Series, where he drove between Wood Brothers Racing and Roush Fenway Racing (2010-2018). In just his second Cup career start, he claimed his first victory in the 2011 Daytona 500 while driving for the Wood Brothers and became the youngest competitor to win the Great American Race at age 20 years. He has also recorded five top-five results, 16 top-10 results, 71 laps led, an average-finishing result of 23.3 and a career-best points result of 22nd place (2016 and 2017).
“We are proud to be a part of Trevor’s return to the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Joe Gibbs Racing,” Dana Lynn Kaye, owner of Devotion Nutrition, said. “We are extremely passionate about our brand and excited about the platform JGR and NASCAR provides to reach new consumers and educate them on how Devotion Nutrition can become an easy part of a daily healthy lifestyle.”
Additional details regarding additional competitors and sponsors for the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Supra team have yet to be determined.
That will be a waste now that Joe’s grandson, Ty will be in the Xfinity Series. It’s been obvious all the Joe Gibbs eggs are being dumped into the Ty Gibbs basket. It was like that last year when he ran a few races in Xfinity. Just ask Harrison Burton or Daniel Hemric. Why do you think they left JGR? They saw the handwriting on the wall.
And it will be the same this year for the other drivers who drive for JGR in Xfinity. But they’ll see the handwriting on the wall, too.
And just wait a couple of years till he moves up to the Cup Series. That will mean no wins for Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin or Martin Truex, Jr. But it will mean multiple wins for little Ty. And they, too, will see the handwriting on the wall.