Trevor Bayne's Return to Reality: What Happens Now?

Trevor Bayne was thrust into the limelight with his Daytona 500 win, but the first race of the year is an anomaly and now the nitty-gritty of the season begins at Phoenix International Raceway.

Certainly, Bayne exhibited great maturity and composure behind the wheel of the potent No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford prepared by Wood Brothers Racing on the high-banks.

In the afterglow of winning the biggest race of the year, Bayne handled the media attention with unexpected professionalism, despite his disbelief of the life-changing event.

As the series leaves Daytona and its unique circumstances, racing reality begins at a track in the Arizona desert that makes unrelenting demands on driver skill and the way the race car will handle.

The fact remains: Wood Brothers Racing is a single-car team. 

Even though Ford and Roush Fenway Racing provided strong support for the legendary team, their operation just does not have the strength to be consistently competitive with other top NASCAR teams.

The feel-good story pulls at the heartstrings, for sure: the youngest driver winning the biggest race with the oldest team.

The greater question: will it draw multimillion-dollar sponsors who make Wood Brothers Racing able to run with the big dogs? 

The answer: probably not.

In the current economic atmosphere, sponsorship dollars are precious to even the most prominent teams in the sport.

Bayne never hesitates to express his religious beliefs, which is certainly his right to do. He already intends to use any racing success he has as a platform to express his faith.

Clearly, high-dollar sponsors find a double-edged sword when supporting a driver so open with his religion and the role it plays in his life.

On one hand, it may serve as inspiration to some, especially young people, and it may draw in new fans who admire Bayne's outlook on life. On the other, some fans would rather see drivers suppress the religious dialogue and keep their beliefs more personal. 

Sponsors tread a fine line, risking alienation if they place their support behind any driver who is outspoken on certain topics, religion being one of them.

Bayne, who took David Pearson's advice and did the No. 21 proud, has at this point made the proper decision to stick with a run for the title in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The driver who shouted, "Are you kidding me," as he crossed the finish line at the Daytona 500 may not be ready for a full-time ride at the NASCAR Sprint Cup level.

Wood Brothers Racing prepared a car that was strong throughout Speedweeks at Daytona.

They didn't do it alone.

It was help from Ford, Roush Fenway Racing, Bayne's talent behind the wheel and perhaps some mysterious intervention that all came together for the Wood Brothers team and gave the sport of NASCAR a much needed feel-good race.

Now Trevor Bayne heads to the reality of Phoenix International Raceway, the one-mile track that races like a short track.

Bayne goes from the confetti-covered, Daytona-500-winning car to his main job of driving the currently unsponsored No. 16 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

He will need to really drive the cars at PIR this weekend, where aero packages and car set-ups take on a great deal more importance than they did on the new surface at Daytona.

No doubt the 20-year-old Knoxville native will once again show he can strut his stuff with the Wood Brothers No. 21 car in the remaining 17 races, including the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix.

More than likely, the results will fail to reach the high-water mark of Daytona.

Bayne already felt that bite of reality when the No. 21 hit the wall hard during practice requiring the team to unload a back-up car.  Bayne complained the car didn't feel right when he hit the track with apparent brake problems.  After hitting the wall, the disappointed driver said,  "I'm done guys."

Bayne will always be the winner of the Daytona 500 and they can't take away that or the great adventure he was able to enjoy as a result of the win.

The young Daytona champ, winner of the first and biggest race of the season, appears to have his head on straight, his priorities in order and great support.

It would be easy for Bayne to try and make a run to the Cup series and attempt a full-time season, but apparently he will exercise the patience required to build his career properly.

This weekend, Bayne returns to the real world of NASCAR.  He will continue to garner attention and congratulations, but he will go about his job as a driver with renewed focus.

For Trevor Bayne, the racing at Phoenix in both the Cup and Nationwide series will be taken in stride.  He has the confidence and faith to become a superstar in racing.

At his age, he has plenty of time to do it.