Daytona 500 Bayne to sit out both Charlotte races
Roush Fenway Racing will hold Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne out of racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the fifth consecutive week he'll miss because of an inflammatory condition.
Team officials said Wednesday that Bayne has been testing, but decided to hold him out of racing 900 miles over two days at Charlotte.
The Nationwide Series race on Saturday is 300 miles, and Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 is the longest race on the NASCAR schedule.
Bayne will now make his return in next week's Nationwide race at Chicagoland Speedway. His next Sprint Cup race will be June 18 at Michigan.
''By all standards Trevor had a great week,'' Roush Fenway Racing President Steve Newmark said in a statement. ''His symptoms have completely subsided. He tested at Virginia International Raceway on Tuesday, had one of the fastest Nationwide Series cars on the race track and his team was extremely pleased with his progress.
''As a result, we plan to have him back in competition next week in Chicago.''
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will make his first Sprint Cup start by replacing Bayne in the Coca-Cola 600 for the Wood Brothers Racing, and Matt Kenseth will run the Nationwide race. Stenhouse is coming off his first career victory, Sunday at Iowa, when he became the first Nationwide regular to win this season.
''Obviously it's not the circumstances that you want to make your first Sprint Cup start,'' Stenhouse said. ''But you grow up dreaming about this moment and I am excited and grateful for the opportunity.
''Trevor is a very good friend of mine and he's going to be around this weekend, and I know that his help with the transition will be instrumental. Hopefully we can give him an effort that will make him proud before we turn the car back over to him for the rest of the season.''
