TREVOR BAYNE
Texas NASCAR Xfinity Series Advance
NASCAR Xfinity Series Overview
● Event: Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 (Round 28 of 33)
● Date: Saturday, Sept. 23
● Location: Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth
● Layout: 1.5-mile oval
● Time/TV/Radio: 3:30 p.m. EDT on USA/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Trevor Bayne, Driver of the No. 19 Interstate Batteries Toyota GR Supra
● Back in the Saddle. Trevor Bayne will make his third start of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series season in this weekend’s Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. Bayne previously drove in last month’s Xfinity Series event at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, where he led 26 laps before getting caught up in a race-ending accident. His most recent outing came last weekend at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, where he finished seventh.
● Texas Tamed. Bayne made his first career Xfinity Series start in 2009. He’s totaled 163 Xfinity Series starts in the nine seasons since. It was during the 2011 season the Tennessee native picked up his first series win at none other than the 1.5-mile oval at which the series races this weekend. Bayne qualified 10th for that year’s November event at Texas and ran a steady race. He took the lead for good with six laps to go.
● In Good Company. The 2023 NASCAR season is Bayne’s second racing on a part-time basis for Joe Gibbs Racing. He competed in nine Xfinty Series races in 2022, scoring five top-five finishes and seven top-10s. Driving the No. 18 JGR Toyota, Bayne qualified on the pole and led 46 laps at Homestead-Miami Speedway in October, and led in six of his nine races last year for a total of 176 laps. This weekend at Texas, Bayne adds another item of note to his resume by racing the iconic Interstate Batteries paint scheme. When he jumps into the No. 19 Interstate Batteries Toyota GR Supra on Saturday, he officially joins the exclusive Team Interstate brotherhood, which includes Hall of Fame drivers Dale Jarrett, Bobby Labonte, Mark Martin and Matt Kenseth.
Trevor Bayne, Driver Q&A
You go into the race weekend as a former winner at Texas. How much does that help when you go to a track where you are a former winner? How does it impact your confidence?
“It’s always a good confidence boost when you’re racing at a track you’ve won at before. It just brings this added level of ‘I can do this’ to your mentality that you can’t get from anywhere else. I think it showed a lot in my first start this season in Daytona, where I hopped in the car for the first time in almost a year and ended up getting to the front and fighting for the win before the night was over. I know Joe Gibbs Racing is going to bring me a fast Interstate Batteries Toyota GR Supra, so I’m excited to get out there and compete for my second Texas win.”
You have nine Xfinity Series starts and 17 Cup Series starts at Texas. What have you learned a little about what it takes to be successful at Texas?
“Texas is a unique track because you’d expect it to race like a traditional mile-and-a-half, but the surface makes it one-of-a-kind from the rest. You really have to understand what you want out of your car and work to have a setup that reflects it. With track position being so important, it becomes a battle of finding speed for qualifying and then, once the green flag drops, it becomes an all-out battle for track position. You have to be physical, know when it’s the time to give or to take, and you have to stay consistent as the race wears on.”
How exciting is it to be racing an Interstate Batteries car this weekend at Texas?
“It’s always exciting to race a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in their Xfinity program. I’ve won a couple of poles and led laps in those cars, so I’m going into the weekend knowing that we will have what we need to be successful. The Interstate Batteries car is legendary in our sport and it’s kind of surreal for me to say I’m getting to drive that car. It’s certainly an honor, and to be able to run that scheme at Texas – their home track – is even more special.”
