The Final Lap with Kerry Murphey

2-Trevor Bayne’s Daytona 500 Win
Winning The Great American Race is a career achievement no matter how many races or championships are won elsewhere. Example: Seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt needed 20 starts to win his Daytona 500 at age 46. All of which made Bayne’s victory both surprising and historic. Bayne, at age 20 years and one day, was making just his second NASCAR Sprint Cup start, although his team – the legendary Wood Brothers – had won the Daytona 500 on four previous occasions. Bayne, who started 32nd and led only the final six laps as a record 74 lead changes were recorded became the youngest Daytona 500 winner and just the seventh to make the race his first NASCAR Sprint Cup victory. The win was Ford’s 600th and 98th for the Wood Brothers.

1 15 14 Tony Stewart Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet
2 1 99 Carl Edwards Aflac Ford
3 2 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Auto Parts Toyota
4 6 17 Matt Kenseth Crown Royal Ford
5 7 24 Jeff Gordon Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet
6 17 33 Clint Bowyer Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet
7 3 4 Kasey Kahne Red Bull Toyota
8 21 29 Kevin Harvick Budweiser Chevrolet
9 10 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota
10 31 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet
11 11 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet
12 14 39 Ryan Newman U.S. ARMY Chevrolet
13 16 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Chevrolet
14 26 1 Jamie McMurray Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet
15 12 43 A J Allmendinger Best Buy Ford
16 23 27 Paul Menard Duracell/Menards Chevrolet
17 24 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota
18 28 00 David Reutimann Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota
19 32 20 Joey Logano The Home Depot Toyota
20 5 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Dodge

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Since ESPN had to cut away from Sam Hornish Jr.’s victory lane celebration, many probably missed it.  So here it is.  We are givers….

RACE RECAP | TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
10 AJ Allemdinger
9 Clint Bowyer
8 Martin Truex Jr.
7 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
6 Jeff Gordon
5 Greg Biffle
4 Matt Kenseth
3 Kasey Kahne
2 Carl Edwards barely hangs onto the points lead

VICTORY LANE

1 Tony Stewart backs up his words from last week and led the most laps, dominates, and grabs his 4th win in the Chase

It comes down to two races, and just 3 points separate points leader Edwards and Stewart heading into a reconfigured, resurfaced Phoenix next week.

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By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

(November 5, 2011)

FORT WORTH, Texas—Nearly nine months after winning the Daytona 500 in his first attempt, Trevor Bayne finally got his first victory in NASCAR’s second-tier series.

Bayne powered past Roush Fenway teammate Carl Edwards after a restart on Lap 194 of 200 and held off hard-charging Denny Hamlin for the victory in Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge Nationwide Series race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Bayne crossed the finish line .142 seconds ahead of Hamlin, who started from the rear of the field after Kyle Busch, scheduled to drive the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, was parked for the weekend for wrecking Ron Hornaday Jr. in Friday night’s truck series race.

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