Trevor Bayne won.
It was a goo – Wait, What? Trevor Bayne won? That’s right. After three years and 77 races, Trevor Bayne finally proved he is no one hit wonder. Bayne won his first Nationwide Race of his career. It only took 2 races for Bayne to win a Sprint Cup race, but Daytona is the great equalizer. Bayne won after a late race caution put him in position to beat out teammate Carl Edwards. While Bayne is eliminated from Championship contention, he needs to get on track for a run at a 2012 Nationwide Series championship. That is, as long as he has a ride.
Elliott Sadler lost 2 points in the Championship battle, but with two races left, Sadler just needs to gain 18 points on Ricky Stenhouse. Justin Allgaier, Aric Almirola and Reed Sorenson were all eliminated from Championship Contention.
Results and More after the jump!
| Fin | Str | Car | Driver | Team | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 10 | 16 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing Ford | 200 | Running |
| 2 | 2 | 18 | Denny Hamlin(i) | Z-Line Designs Toyota | 200 | Running |
| 3 | 8 | 60 | Carl Edwards(i) | Fastenal Ford | 200 | Running |
| 4 | 5 | 33 | Clint Bowyer(i) | Rheem Heating, Cooling Chevy | 200 | Running |
| 5 | 6 | 22 | Brad Keselowski(i) | Discount Tire Dodge | 200 | Running |
| 6 | 4 | 6 | Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. | Sam’s Club/Cargill Ford | 200 | Running |
| 7 | 9 | 12 | Sam Hornish, Jr. | AVIS Dodge | 200 | Running |
| 8 | 3 | 20 | Joey Logano(i) | GameStop/call of Duty MW3 Toyota | 200 | Running |
| 9 | 1 | 2 | Elliott Sadler | OneMain Financial Chevy | 200 | Running |
| 10 | 21 | 32 | Brian Vickers(i) | Dollar General Chevy | 200 | Running |
| 11 | 11 | 7 | Danica Patrick | GoDaddy.com Chevy | 200 | Running |
| 12 | 7 | 11 | Brian Scott | Shore Lodge Toyota | 200 | Running |
| 13 | 18 | 9 | Kenny Wallace | G-Oil Toyota | 200 | Running |
| 14 | 14 | 31 | Justin Allgaier | Brandt Chevy | 200 | Running |
| 15 | 12 | 38 | Jason Leffler | Great Clips Chevy | 200 | Running |
| 16 | 22 | 82 | Reed Sorenson | Foametix/Bullet Liner Dodge | 199 | Running |
| 17 | 20 | 30 | James Buescher(i) | ABF Chevy | 199 | Running |
| 18 | 17 | 66 | Steve Wallace | 5-hour Energy Toyota | 199 | Running |
| 19 | 15 | 88 | Aric Almirola | Grand Touring Vodka Chevy | 199 | Running |
| 20 | 30 | 62 | Michael Annett | Loan Star Title Loans Toyota | 198 | Running |
| 21 | 27 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | AM/FM Energy Toyota | 198 | Running |
| 22 | 13 | 81 | Blake Koch # | Daystar.com Chevy | 198 | Running |
| 23 | 19 | 19 | Mike Bliss | Brookshire’s Food & Pharmacy Chevy | 197 | Running |
| 24 | 39 | 14 | Eric McClure | Hefty BlackOut/Reynolds Chevy | 196 | Running |
| 25 | 29 | 23 | Robert Richardson, Jr. | Takis/Tia Rosa/Barcel Chevy | 196 | Running |
| 26 | 37 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Band-Aire Heating Chevy | 195 | Running |
| 27 | 25 | 3 | Scott Riggs | McKinney Pipe & Steel Chevy | 195 | Running |
| 28 | 41 | 89 | Morgan Shepherd | Victory in Jesus Racing Chevy | 195 | Running |
| 29 | 34 | 39 | Joey Gase | Fenton Motors Ford | 195 | Running |
| 30 | 40 | 28 | Derrike Cope | MAXelence Chevy | 195 | Running |
| 31 | 38 | 52 | Jamie Dick(i) | Viva Auto Group Chevy | 194 | Running |
| 32 | 26 | 1 | Mike Wallace | G&K Services Chevy | 192 | Running |
| 33 | 31 | 15 | Timmy Hill # | Poynt.com Ford | 142 | Engine |
| 34 | 28 | 70 | David Stremme(i) | Foretravel Chevy | 116 | Suspension |
| 35 | 24 | 8 | David Ragan(i) | Texas Tech University Ford | 114 | Engine |
| 36 | 42 | 40 | Josh Wise | Curtis Key Plumbing Chevy | 21 | Start and Park |
| 37 | 36 | 75 | Carl Long | Rick Ware Racing Ford | 15 | Start and Park |
| 38 | 16 | 27 | JJ Yeley(i) | CertainTeed Ford | 13 | Start and Park |
| 39 | 33 | 46 | Chase Miller | Curtis Key Plumbing Chevy | 13 | Start and Park |
| 40 | 23 | 4 | Tim Andrews | Fenton Motors Ford | 11 | Start and Park |
| 41 | 32 | 50 | TJ Bell(i) | Liberty Tire Recycle Chevy | 9 | Start and Park |
| 42 | 43 | 44 | Jeff Green | Tri-Star Motorsports Chevy | 6 | Start and Park |
| 43 | 35 | 47 | Scott Speed | Curtis Key Plumbing Chevy | 3 | Start and Park |
Danica Patrick and Sam Hornish both had great runs at Texas and both could be legitimate contenders for the 2012 Nationwide Championship. Here’s how the points look heading into the last two races of the year:
| Pos | Driver | Points | Ldr | Wins |
| 1 | Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. | 1138 | 0 | 2 |
| 2 | Elliott Sadler | 1121 | -17 | 0 |
| 3 | Justin Allgaier * | 1039 | -99 | 1 |
| 4 | Aric Almirola * | 1039 | -99 | 0 |
| 5 | Reed Sorenson * | 1034 | -104 | 1 |
| 6 | Jason Leffler * | 978 | -160 | 0 |
| 7 | Kenny Wallace * | 925 | -213 | 0 |
| 8 | Brian Scott * | 909 | -229 | 0 |
| 9 | Steve Wallace * | 896 | -242 | 0 |
| 10 | Michael Annett * | 884 | -254 | 0 |
| 11 | Trevor Bayne * | 821 | -317 | 1 |
| 12 | Mike Bliss * | 787 | -351 | 0 |
| *- Eliminated |
And now for the 2011 Nationwide “Chase”:
| Reg Pos | Chase Pos | Numb | Driver | Chase Points | Chase Behind | Reg Behind |
| 1 | 1 | 6 | Ricky Stenhouse | 2310 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | Elliott Sadler | 2295 | -15 | -17 |
| 4 | 3 | 31 | Justin Allgaier * | 2270 | -40 | -99 |
| 3 | 4 | 88 | Aric Almirola * | 2269 | -41 | -99 |
| 11 | 5 | 16 | Trevor Bayne * | 2253 | -57 | -317 |
| 8 | 6 | 11 | Brian Scott * | 2251 | -59 | -229 |
| 6 | 7 | 38 | Jason Leffler * | 2238 | -72 | -160 |
| 10 | 8 | 62 | Michael Annett * | 2235 | -75 | -254 |
| 9 | 9 | 66 | Steve Wallace * | 2220 | -90 | -242 |
| 12 | 10 | 19 | Mike Bliss * | 2218 | -92 | -351 |
| 5 | 11 | 32 | Reed Sorenson ** | 2212 | -98 | -104 |
| 7 | 12 | 09 | Kenny Wallace ** | 2211 | -99 | -213 |
| *-Eliminated in Regular Points System | ||||||
| **-Eliminated in Both Points System | ||||||
Join us later in the week for another preview article. Enjoy!
