Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne will return to driving duties on June 4, his Nationwide Series team Roush Fenway Racing announced on Wednesday.
All being well, he will then make his next Sprint Cup start in the #21 Wood Brothers Ford two weeks later at Michigan on June 18.
The 20-year-old surprise winner of The Great American Race in February has been sidelined for four Nationwide events since being hospitalised for a week for symptoms of swelling, nausea, fatigue and vision impairment, originally thought to be related to an insect or tick bite Bayne received after the Cup race at Martinsville in early April.
Last weekend he also had to miss the prestigious All-Star Race for which he gained entry with his
Daytona win. He will also miss this coming weekend's Nationwide race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the Top Gear 300 which may see the series debut of former F1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen.
"Of course, Trevor is a competitor and he wanted to be back on the racetrack this weekend," said Roush Fenway Racing president Steve Newmark. "However, we feel it is in his best interest for us to exercise an abundance of caution with this matter and withhold him from racing this weekend — especially considering the length of the races and the fact that Trevor is just starting to get back into his daily routine.
"Although Trevor would have preferred to compete in all 900 miles this weekend, he respects and understands our decision and will shift his considerable focus to his return at Chicagoland next weekend."
Bayne last raced at the Sprint Cup event at Talladega on April 17, before being sent to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for tests which turned into a week-long stay. It's not clear whether doctors ever confirmed a diagnosis of Bayne's condition or the source of Bayne's symptoms, but they were said to have responded well to medication in the meantime.
"By all standards Trevor had a great week," said Newmark. "His symptoms have completely subsided ... As a result, we plan to have him back in competition next week in Chicago, and have consulted with his doctors at the Mayo Clinic and the
NASCAR medical staff about that timetable."
The team had allowed Bayne to get back to some testing this week, including running a Nationwide car at the road track at the Virginia International Raceway on Tuesday. "[Trevor] had one of the fastest Nationwide Series cars on the racetrack and his team was extremely pleased with his progress," said Newmark.