Daytona 500 Crowns Youngest Champion

Trevor Bayne has become the youngest winner in the history of the Daytona 500. He won yesterday's race only a day after his 20th birthday. He was so excited and so inexperienced that he could hardly find his way to victory lane after coming off the track. The record previously belonged to Jeff Gordon, who won Daytona at 25. It was only Bayne's second Sprint Series start of his career, and the Wood Brothers team he was driving for hadn't won a Daytona 500 since the 70s.

Despite the win, it seems as if Bayne will not decide to move up from the Nationwide Series to race for the Sprint Cup. He had only planned on running 17 races at that level, none for points and would not be considered for Rookie of the Year.

As Bayne cruised to the lead, he was surprised by the lack of a challenge that was presented. Drivers behind him included Tony Stewart, Bobby Labonte, Mark Martin and Kurt Bush, none of whom have ever won the Daytona 500.

The driver who won the Pole for the race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 24th after a weekend that saw him go from the front of the pack to the back before the race even started. A crash early in the week meant he had to switch cars, and couldn't run in the Pole he had won.