Trevor Bayne moving up to NASCAR Cup full-time in 2015, in Roush No. 6 - MotorSportsTalk

An old, iconic number and a young, former Daytona 500 champion are coming into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series full-time in 2015.

Trevor Bayne will make the jump to Cup in 2015 with Roush Fenway Racing, sponsor AdvoCare and the iconic No. 6 that Mark Martin made famous at RFR for the majority of his illustrious career. It’s a multiyear deal and perhaps a contingency plan for RFR to keep its number of entries at three cars.

For Bayne, who’s worn the No. 21 for his Cup career in starts with another legendary Ford team – the Wood Brothers – bringing back the 6 is something he’s looking forward to.

“I am kind of getting used to filling big shoes,” Bayne said in a team release. “Having driven the Wood Brothers No. 21 for the last few years in the Sprint Cup Series has been a great experience. I’ll always hold special the opportunity to drive for the Wood Brothers. Those guys are true legends in the sport and I can’t say enough about the unforgettable relationships I forged there and of course our huge win in the Daytona 500.”

Bayne, who’s still only 23, is the 2011 Daytona 500 champion but has only made 50 Cup starts over five seasons, from 2010 through 2014. He’s never driven a full season in Cup. His most recent NASCAR Nationwide Series win came a year ago, in Iowa.

Jack Roush adds the No. 6 to his full-time lineup as the status of Carl Edwards in the No. 99 for 2015 and beyond is still to be determined. RFR’s other drivers are Greg Biffle and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

“That number brings back a lot of memories,” he said, via the release. “It reminds me of all the battles we fought to get to where we are today; the victories and the defeats. Success in NASCAR does not come easy. It comes at a price and requires a great deal of passion, sacrifice, dedication and hard work. To me the No. 6 exemplifies all of that.

Here’s a video announcing the return.

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An IndyCar executive said there is “absolutely” disappointment that its long-awaited video game recently was delayed beyond its target date, but the series remains optimistic about the new title.

“Well, I don’t know how quick it will be, but the whole situation is important to us,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said during a news conference Monday morning to announce IndyCar’s NTT title sponsorship. “Motorsport Games has spent a lot of money, a lot of effort to create an IndyCar title. What we’ve seen of that effort, which is not completely obvious, is very reassuring.

“I think it’s going to be outstanding. That’s our shared objective, that when it is released, it’s just widely accepted. A great credit both to IndyCar racing, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, something that our fans love.”

In June 2021, IndyCar announced a new partnership with Motorsport Games to create and distribute an IndyCar video game for the PC and Xbox and PlayStation consoles in 2023.

But during an earnings call last week, Motorsport Games said the IndyCar game had been delayed to 2024 to ensure high quality.

Somewhat compounding the delay is that IndyCar’s license for iRacing expired after the end of the 2022 season because of its exclusive agreement with Motorsport Games.

That’s resulted in significant changes for IndyCar on iRacing, which had provided a high-profile way for the series to stay visible during its 2020 shutdown from the pandemic. (Players still can race an unbranded car but don’t race on current IndyCar tracks, nor can they stream).

That’s helped ratchet up the attention on having a video game outlet for IndyCar.

“I wish we had an IndyCar title 10 years ago,” said Miles, who has been working with the organization since 2013. “We’ve been close, but we’ve had these I think speed bumps.”

IndyCar is hopeful the Motorsports Game edition will be ready at the start of 2024. Miles hinted that beta versions could be unveiled to reporters ahead of the time “to begin to show the progress in a narrow way to make sure we’ve got it right, to test the progress so that we’re ready when they’re ready.”

It’s been nearly 18 years since the release of the most recent IndyCar video game for console or PC.

“(We) better get it right,” Miles said. “It’s something we’re very close to and continue to think about what it is to make sure we get it over the line in due course.”