Daytona win hasn't paid all-star dividend
Friday, Mar. 18, 2011
BRISTOL, Tenn. – As of now, the surprise winner of this season’s Daytona 500 has no ride in the May 21 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Trevor Bayne’s win in the 500 guaranteed him eligibility for a chance to win the $1 million top prize in this season’s all-star event, but his Wood Brothers team currently doesn’t have funding to field the No. 21 in the race.
While the Wood Brothers have expanded their Cup schedule since Bayne’s upset win – Bayne will now run every Cup race through the April 17 race at Talladega, Ala. – the team will not stretch its funds to cover a non-points race.
“We’re looking for more money and we are already planning to run the 600 at Charlotte,” said team co-owner Eddie Wood. “So far we haven’t come across anything that really works.
“We’ve gone over (to CMS) to run the small race the last two years hoping to make the big race and now that we’re able to run in the big race, we’re not going to be there.”
Wood said the team’s focus right now is to perform the best it possibly can in the races for which sponsorship is already obtained and in the process try to keep the car in the top 35 of car owner points for as long as possible, which guarantees a starting spot each week.
“If you had money to go to the all-star race or the money to go to a points race, you’d probably pick the points race right now,” Wood said.
Wood said that even if the Wood Brothers don’t field the No. 21 in the all-star race, Bayne could possibly run the event for another team.
“Where we stand today, we have a couple things working for that, but nothing’s really happened yet. I don’t think the No. 21 will be there,” he said.
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