Even in a part-time role, Trevor Bayne says his focus hasn’t changed.
In his first public comments since Wednesday’s announcement that he will share time with Matt Kenseth in the driver’s of the No. 6 Ford Fusion for the remainder of the season, Bayne said Friday his health was not an issue and that he was “here to win” at Talladega Superspeedway.
“(F)irst of all, my health is 100 percent,” Bayne said, according to a Ford Performance press release. “I am as fit physically, mentally and spiritually as I have ever been to do my job well. The second part is that my desire is still as it has always been since I was 5 years old: To come to the track every weekend to contend for wins and championships and be a driver at the top level in the Cup series.
“Nothing there has changed. I am still going to pursue that, because I feel I have the ability to do that. Right now, I don’t have much more to add to that. I want to respect your time and I know you have a ton of questions after everything that has happened this week, but if you could just allow me to come into the garage and talk to my team and work through this weekend, I would love to have that opportunity.
“I am here to win Talladega, as I had planned to do before any of this. That is what I am going to do. (Thank) you guys so much.”
Bayne did not answer questions from the media.
Bayne, 27, has driven the No. 6 for Roush Fenway Racing full-time since 2015. The highlight of his career came at the 2011 Daytona 500, which he won a day after his 20th birthday in the iconic No. 21 Ford. He announced in 2013 that he had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, but since 2014 he has been symptom-free.
Bayne is expected to race this Sunday at Talladega and next weekend at Dover International Speedway, with Kenseth making his debut May 12 at Kansas Speedway. The driver schedule for the remainder of the season is to be determined.
