Professional Documents
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by Faith
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Driven
by Faith
the
Trevor Bayne
Story
Godwin Kelly
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ZONDERKIDZ
Driven by Faith: The Trevor Bayne Story
Copyright 2011 by Godwin Kelly
This title is also available as a Zondervan ebook.
Visit www.zondervan.com/ebooks
Requests for information should be addressed to:
Zonderkidz, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530
ISBN: 978-0-310-72631-9
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission.
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Zonderkidz is a trademark of Zondervan.
Editor: Kim Childress
Cover design: Kris Nelson
Interior design: Ben Fetterley
Interior composition: Greg Johnson/Textbook Perfect
Printed in the United States of America
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Table of Contents
Introduction: A personal note
from Trevor Bayne. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1. Two Laps to Glory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2. Daytona Speed-Away. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3. It Started in Knoxville. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
4. Follow the Rainbow Warrior. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5. Up the Ladder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
6. A Little Help From His Friends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
7. Looking for a Ride. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
8. Nationwide on His Side. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
9. Trading Teams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
10. Confidence and Faith. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
11. Tryout at Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
12. Prepping for 2011. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
13. Moving Through Speedweeks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
14. The Golden Moment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
15. Life as a Champion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
16. Back on Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
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Introduction
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Chapter 1
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Driven by Faith
discovered a new style of racing known as tandem racing, which put two cars bumper-to-bumper, traveling at
nearly 200 miles per hour.
Looks pretty easy doesnt it? one of the TV announcers joked early in the race. Think you could drive
a car, folks at home, at 200 miles an hour with somebody
pushing you?
The close confines had already gotten the best of
extremely experienced drivers. A major crash less than
thirty laps into the race had eliminated many of racings
top names from contention, including Jimmie Johnson,
Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, and Michael Waltrip.
Early in the week at Daytona, Bayne found he was
best suited as the push car. So on race day, he felt very
comfortable in the role of assisting more well-known
drivers to the front of the pack.
By the time Bayne found himself in front, the two
hundred lap competition had already seen seventy-four
lead changes a record! Twenty-two different drivers
had led in the race, which had also seen a record number
of caution flags with sixteen.
With accidents and blown engines happening all
around him, Bayne had remained calm behind the wheel
of the number 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford and stuck
to the game plan. That plan was to push his teammate
David Ragan in the number 6 Roush Fenway Racing
Ford to the front.
The pair had formulated that plan while following
the pace car during a yellow caution flag (see Flag
Formula) in overtime of the race. The Daytona 500 is
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Stephen M. Dowell/MCT/Landov
Driven by Faith
David Ragan (6) crosses the start/finish line in front of Trevor Bayne
(21) and Tony Stewart (14) during a restart in the Daytona 500 at
Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, on
Sunday, February 20, 2011.
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REUTERS/Brian Blanco/Landov
Driven by Faith
Trevor crosses the finish line first as the checkered flag waves
overhead.
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Driven by Faith
for his son. But as soon as the race was finished, Rocky
and Stephanie rushed to the track where a security guard
stopped them. After Rocky showed his identification, the
security guard not only let them onto the track but also
gave Rocky the checkered flag to take down to his son.
Instantly reporters, fans, and even competitors were
drawn to Trevors genuine excitement, humbleness, and
character.
Second place in the Daytona 500 feels way worse
than any other position Ive ever finished in the Daytona
500, Edwards said after the race. But that is made better by listening to Trevor and how excited he is. He is
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Driven by Faith
Flag Formula
For more than five hundred years, flags have been used to communicate during war.
And for over sixty years, flags have been important communication tools to drivers
as they do battle on NASCAR racetracks.
Eight main flags are used in NASCAR races:
A green flag signals the start of a race. Its also used to let the drivers know
the track is clear following a caution flag, and they can start driving fast and
passing each other again.
Drivers better slow down when they see a yellow caution flag. This flag
signals that theres an accident or debris on the track, or that the track is no
longer raceable due to bad weather. During a caution flag, the drivers cant
pass each other and often bunch up behind a pace car. (Racetracks provide
a pace car to keep the speeds under control at the beginning of a race and
during cautions.)
A red flag demands immediate attention. It means the track is unsafe and
drivers must exit the raceway and stop. A red flag is waved when an accident
blocks the track or if a driver is injured and needs quick medical attention.
Heavy rains may also bring out a red flag.
The white flag is used once during a raceit means one lap to go!
Drivers dont like to see the black flag. Normally, this flag is waved at one
particular car because it has broken a rule or has a mechanical problem. When
a driver gets a black flag, he must make an immediate pit stop.
If a driver doesnt stop right away after seeing a black flag, he is shown a
black with white cross flag. This means hes been disqualified and wont
score any NASCAR points for the race until he comes into the pits.
The blue with yellow stripe flag is also called the courtesy flag. If a
driver sees this flag, its saying, Move over. There are faster cars coming from
behind. The slower car does not have to move over, but after receiving the
courtesy flag, its the nice thing to do.
NASCAR drivers love being the first one to cross the line when a black-andwhite checkered flag is waving. It signals the race is over. The first one to
cross the line during a checked flag is the winner.
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