20-Year-Old Rookie Trevor Bayne Wins Daytona 500

A 20-year-old kid with no experience racing against the pros at Daytona Raceway has walked away with one of sports biggest prizes, a Daytona 500 win. Rookie Trevor Bayne was competing in his first Daytona 500 and only second career Sprint Cup start today when he beat a field of his peers to the top prize.

The win makes Bayne the youngest winner of the cup in NASCAR history and comes after a wild race in which 70 lead changes were witnessed and a 17-car pileup during the first half took out many of the races top competitors.

We’ll have to wait until Feb 26, 2012 to see if Bayne can match his first time magic again as NASCAR this week announced that the race would be pushed forward one week in an attempt to lengthen the off-season. The longer start date would also mean NASCAR wouldn’t have to compete with the NFL if they move forward with their plans for two more games in the regular season.