Bayne goes from vows to victory lane at Newton

NEWTON – Marriage has not slowed Trevor Bayne down.

The 22-year-old joked over the radio that he should have gotten married a long time ago after he concluded a stunning and exciting late-race comeback Sunday.

Bayne exchanged vows with new wife, Ashton, on Tuesday and celebrated their honeymoon by winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series DuPont Pioneer 250 at Iowa Speedway. He endured the long day with about a 1 hour, 10-minute rain delay for his first Nationwide win this season and second of his career. The race was originally set for Saturday night, but was postponed by rain.

The married couple was reunited in victory lane, Bayne's pass with 11 laps remaining to pass Austin Dillon, who had led a whopping 207 laps.

“It's such a special week for me,” Bayne said. “I was teared up at the altar on Tuesday and teared up on victory lane on Sunday.”

The Roush Fenway team was all smiles, including Ashton, who attended the post-race press conference. The victory was the fourth in the last five Nationwide races at Iowa Speedway for crew chief Mike Kelley, who guided Ricky Stenhouse to three straight wins here in 2011 and 2012.

“This team at Iowa has been so good,” Bayne said. “It's such an opportunity and a blessing to be a part of this team.”

Bayne closed the gap and pulled alongside Dillon with about 15 laps remaining when Dillon seemed slower due to lap traffic.

The pair made contact and Dillon became loose, allowing Bayne to pass and pull away for the victory.

“We ran him down,” said Bayne, who earned a second straight top-five finish and fourth overall this season. “We were able to race him pretty hard.”

The long runs seemed to benefit Bayne more than Dillon. It played a factor that the race remained green for the last 72 laps after the fifth and final caution. The goal was to keep Dillon in sight for the late surge and it became a strong possibility about five laps before the final lead change, according to Bayne.

“We weren't great on the short run, but the long run we could really get after him,” said Bayne, who led 19 laps. “I knew we had to keep that lead to a minimum, while he was fast on the restart, so we could catch him at the end of the run.”

It also marked the 200th win for a Ford car on the Nationwide Series, which began in 1987 and ranks second to Chevrolet (376). Kelley said the team had to make huge progress on the car's setup to contend for a win and provide that wedding present they wanted for the happy couple.

“Actually, when we unloaded we weren't that good,” Kelley said. “Trevor did a really good job of telling us where we were wrong and what we needed to work on.”

They had to make numerous adjustments during a day of inconsistent conditions that varied between sunny and cloudy and dry and rainy. They had to constantly adapt, preferring the cloud cover.

“Our car changed very dramatically when the clouds were out to when the sun was out,” Bayne said. “We picked up two-tenths versus the competition as soon as the clouds were out. That was part of the reason we caught Austin at the end of that run.”

The team has faced adversity on and off the track all season long. They have persevered tests, so the conditions, including the long delay, were easy to handle.

“Days like today are becoming (easier) for us because of all the things we've had to go through,” Kelley said. “We've had people in and out, crazy things happen to us on the race track we've seen happen to us before (and) we have to go back and rebound.”

Dillon dominated nearly the entire race, leading 156 of the first 187 laps.

Instead, the power wasn't there at the end to close out the dominating performance. He said the No. 3 car didn't have enough drive into the corner and Bayne was better at the end.

“We could get a big lead but started fading fast at the end of those runs,” Dillon said. “That's just part of it.”

He didn't seem to have an issue with the late contact with Bayne, who made contact with Regan Smith during a restart before the rain delay that helped Dillon jump from fourth to first before the red flag.

“That was good racing,” Dillon said. “Nothing wrong there.”

The 23-year-old Richard Childress Racing driver put himself in position for his first win of the season right before the red flag. Dillon began in fourth and made a move to the inside to pass Bayne and Regan Smith, who battled each other on the high side.

“The Chevrolet was fast,” Dillon said. “We made a good move to get us back in the lead right there after the No. 6 hit the No. 7.”

Dillon led 103 laps at the midway point, maintaining his spot at the front of the field after claiming his third straight pole. He never dropped further back than fourth, claiming his sixth top-five and seventh top-10 of 2013.

“We'll keep improving,” Dillon said. “It was a good points day.”

Elliott Sadler recorded another top-five finish at Iowa Speedway. He placed third, but was too far away to challenge the top two. Sadler rebounded from a disappointed finish at Dover (Del.) International Raceway last week.

Things appear to be moving in the right direction.

“We knew coming into Iowa we could be competitive and run up front,” Sadler said. “We showed that today. This is a good momentum builder for me and my race team.”

Sam Hornish Jr., who battled Dillon for early, finished fourth after leading 22 laps. He now trails season points leader Smith by 23 points. Smith finished seventh.

Kyle Larson, the highest finishing rookie, rounded out the top-five.

Cedar Rapids native Joey Gase tied his best start in Saturday's qualifying, beginning in the 32nd spot. He completed 240 laps to place 27th, which is his best of six Nationwide finishes this season.

“At the beginning of the day, we were doing pretty good," Gase said. "Then, a little before halfway, we started having ignition issues, and had to come in during the green. That cost us, about, three or four laps. If it wasn't for that ignition issue, I think we would've had a top-25, easy. Overall, we finished, and it was an OK day.”

Gase said he will be racing next week at Michigan International Raceway for Jimmy Means Racing. The rest of the schedule is uncertain, leaving Gase to take a "week-by-week" approach.

The run at Iowa Speedway with Go Green Racing enforces the point Gase can handle the equipment.

“It makes everyone know you're not going to go out there and destroy the car every week," Gase said. "And that's big. Money's tight everywhere these days, especially with the economy. They don't want anyone to go out and trash their cars, no matter how they run, so that's always good to get done.”

Des Moines native Michael Annett ran well until flurry of incidents forced him off the track to finish 30th. Annett started 18th and climbed to eighth for the restart after the rain delay. He was 10th when Drew Herring clipped his left-rear end and spun him out on the back stretch.

Annett fell to 21st and took the track after some quick repairs. During the caution laps, Annett blew his left-rear tire and did not return.

The race was the first stand-alone Nationwide event this season and the first without a NASCAR Sprint Cup regular. Joey Logano was supposed to drive the No. 22 car for Penske Racing. After the postponement, the Nationwide race conflicted with his Sprint Cup responsibility and was replaced behind the wheel by Ryan Blaney, who finished ninth. Blaney also had a top-10 finish in the NASCAR Camping World Trucks Series race at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this weekend.