Bayne may only run Nationwide part-time: Trevor Bayne has a Daytona 500 championship ring, an electric smile, and a bright future in NASCAR’s national divisions. What he doesn’t have right now, though, is a full-time ride in the Nationwide Series for 2012. The Roush Fenway driver confirmed Tuesday that his #16 team doesn’t currently have the funding to race full-time on the Nationwide tour, a fact that may limit him to only a partial schedule this season. Bayne, who turns 21 next month, won a race at Texas Motor Speedway last year and finished 11th in final points despite missing five events because of what he believes was Lyme disease. He would be viewed as a strong contender to challenge teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for the championship this season, but that would require competing in all 33 races. And despite winning the Nationwide title last season, Stenhouse does not have full-season sponsorship, although he said the #6 car will run the entire slate with some help from manufacturer Ford. Bayne said he had not yet decided on whether to compete for championship points in Nationwide or Sprint Cup â under a NASCAR rule enacted last year, drivers must choose one â and would likely wait as long as possible to do so. Bayne’s absence would further shake up a 2012 Nationwide championship race that’s already lost two potential top-10 cars in the shutdown of Rusty Wallace Racing, seen fourth-place finisher Aric Almirola land a Sprint Cup ride at Richard Petty Motorsports, and sixth-place finisher Jason Leffler move to Kyle Busch’s truck. As of now, the top contenders appear to be Stenhouse, 2011 runner-up Elliott Sadler, top-10 drivers Justin Allgaier and Brian Scott, and newcomers Danica Patrick, Austin Dillon and Cole Whitt. (NASCAR.com)(1-24-2012)
