DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Trevor Bayne won the Daytona 500, but if he's looking for a cup championship, he'll have to get it in the Nationwide series, the understudy to the Sprint series
"I think I am going to stay with Nationwide," Bayne said Tuesday on NASCAR's weekly teleconference call with media outlets. "Nothing has really changed for me other than that I am the Daytona 500 champion, which is really incredible."
While Bayne won the Daytona 500 for the Wood Brothers, his run with the organization includes only 16 more Sprint Cup races. "I think we are still going to have an awesome year for Roush Fenway running for that Nationwide championship," Bayne said. "Obviously we still have a blank car and I would love to get some partners on it, but as of now we are still running for it full time over there. I am still not full-time Cup and I am going to run for the championship in Nationwide. I don't regret any of our decisions there."
Trevor Bayne, the 2011 Daytona 500 champion, talks to fans at a breakfast in his honor Monday at Daytona International Speedway.
While Bayne won the Daytona 500 for the Wood Brothers, his run with the organization includes only 16 more Sprint Cup races.
"I think we are still going to have an awesome year for Roush Fenway running for that Nationwide championship," Bayne said. "Obviously we still have a blank car and I would love to get some partners on it, but as of now we are still running for it full time over there. I am still not full-time Cup and I am going to run for the championship in Nationwide. I don't regret any of our decisions there."
NASCAR implemented new rules prior to the start of Speedweeks 2011, including an inverted point system for races and requiring drivers to choose either Sprint or Nationwide for which they could earn points for a championship.
Bayne told reporters in Tuesday's tele-conference that he was excited about one call, in particular, he received after winning the Daytona 500.
"When the White House called and said that the president wanted to speak to me in the next couple of days, that was really cool. I was blown away by that," Bayne said. "I still haven't talked to him yet. I have had so many calls and texts from folks including Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards and Jeff Gordon, all showing their support, but the White House was the one that stunned me the most."