Spencer Bayston's aware of his position in the eyes of the Sprint Car world at large. Actually, nobody's been more understanding of his precarious place in the industry — navigating free agency amid a two-year winless drought — than himself. 

Going from CJB Motorsports in 2024 to Jason Meyers Racing at the start of this season — only for that highly anticipated partnership to end prematurely after Aug. 9’s Knoxville Nationals — the 27-year-old from Lebanon, Ind., won’t hide that he’s spent the last three months working to rekindle his stock.

"Yeah, I mean, you know, racing is tough, obviously. Your stock can be super high at one point and then you do one or two things, and it can absolutely plummet," Bayston told FloRacing in a phone interview Thursday. "The start of the season, I had pretty high expectations and kind of a vision of where I felt like our season was headed. And unfortunately it didn't go the way that any of us planned. Obviously your stock takes a hit at that point."

But since then, the five-time World of Outlaws winner and former USAC National Midget champ has strategically plotted his return to relevance — landing interim deals with the Paul Silva-managed No. W team owned by Kevin Kozlowski and Tarlton Racing, two of the top operations on the West Coast.

In nine races before this weekend's Trophy Cup 31 at Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway, which Bayston's a surefire favorite aboard the Silva-prepared No. W machine, he's recaptured front-running ways at nationally touring events, finishing runner-up twice in High Limit (Aug. 15) and WoO action (Sept. 20) at Tulare.

He's also posted five top-fives and seven top-10 runs over that span. Though he's still searching for his first 410 victory since August 2023's Night Before The Iron-Man at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55, consider Bayston back on track.

"I feel like we quickly turned that around and kind of verified — or put everyone's doubts to rest — my ability to drive a race car," Bayston said, continuing his thought on restoring his stock in the wake of a tumultuous two-year stretch. "That's kind of why I've tried to be careful about, you know, what I jump into rather than just going to run races just to run races, but worry about that stock, and obviously try to keep it on a steady climb. I feel like we've done a really good job of that, you know since August.”

This weekend's Trophy Cup, which culminates with Saturday's $10,000-to-win finale and $30,000 top prize for the overall points champ under a unique format, is shaping up as Bayston's final event of the 2025 season. And he'd love nothing more than to capitalize on his golden opportunity driving for Silva.

"I don't think my confidence ever wavered too much, but the fact that we were able to unload fast in the W car out here back in the early fall was obviously a little bit of a boost," Bayston said. "And then having ran some really good races at Tulare and the W car and then backing it up with the (Tarlton) 21 — and then, you know, jumping into an event like Trophy Cup that I've never gotten run, but always wanted to, and always had really high on my list — really excited for the opportunity to be able to run such a cool event that has a lot of history and do it in a car that is gonna unload fast and then be ultra competitive.”

Quite simply, the one-third mile California oval has served as the perfect proving grounds for Bayston of late.

"Yeah, any place I mean any place that you can string some really good runs together, it's gonna quickly turn into one of your favorite places," Bayston said. "Tulare’s always been high on my list and what I think is one of the best racetracks in the country, one of the most perfect-shaped, usually has great track conditions that presents a lot of really exciting, aggressive racing whether you go up and bang the boards or you run the diamond move and drive under guys off of (turn) two."

Ultimately, Tulare's tested and showcased Bayston's race craft, like his Aug. 15 battle with former JMR teammate Corey Day, who narrowly outdueled Bayston for that night's High Limit victory.

“Obviously Corey back at the High Limit race was able to kind of pull-putt on one end and bang the boards on the other to win that thing. So I think it's always been a really exciting racetrack," Bayston said. "Yes, having ran some really good races there as of recent, it's quickly becoming one of my favorite places, if not my favorite, to go race. So it has me you know even more excited for a weekend like this that has such a big event, with such a big name, and be able to do it in you know one of the better better cars at the track is definitely has me excited."

Tulare's even given him some motivation entering the weekend. He fell 0.021 seconds shy of Sept. 20's $83,000 victory to David Gravel at Tulare's Dennis Roth Classic — a photo finish “I definitely look back on it a fair amount."

There’s “definitely a little bit of sting just because, I felt like, I had him right where I wanted him," continued Bayston on reflecting upon nearly upending Gravel in one of the closest finishes in Sprint Car history.

“Made that one costly mistake entering (turn) one on the last lap that, I think, prevented us from being able to circle him in (turns) three and four, and win the thing running away," Bayston said. "Defnitely a little bit still left on the table I’m sure I’m gonna try to apply this weekend. And not make those mistakes and get everything I can, and put ourselves in the best position possible, to win this thing.”

Either way, whether it's prospective car owners contemplating hiring him or critiques that have cast off his abilities, Bayston feels he's reaffirmed his talent in the view of the public since his August release from JMR. And Bayston knows what's enabled him to do just that.

“I think the people that are involved, the people that are in the industry and have prominent positions, understand all the variables that go into what makes this Sprint Car team successful," Bayston said. "There's obviously a lot of people online that don't have the full comprehension of how this sport works you know in the deeper, more-complete kind of fashion. Yeah, it’s easy for a lot of people to say ‘they just you know forgot how to drive’ or ‘oh, they don't know what they're doing anymore. They obviously can't put a car together.’ "

Bayston isn't alone in attempts to recapture respective levels of success this season. Like Bayston, Donny Schatz is also winless this season and ride-searching for 2026. Six-time reigning national touring champ Brad Sweet has been open about his 2025 struggles as well. 

“It's tough. Like, obviously, you see it. You just made the example yourself of all the guys that you've seen have a ton of success in the past that don’t have as much success now," Bayston said. "It's just a testament to how tough this sport is, so when you do have that match, and you do have that run of success, it makes it all the more special.

“And to the people that matter, they understand, you know, what it takes to get to that point and have, I think, a little bit deeper of appreciation for that ability to put together good runs on a nightly basis."

As for 2026, Bayston's still finalizing those future plans, but he's confident about what's next and wherever his new home might be moving forward.

"Ultimately, looking into my future, our future, that's kind of what I have most important, first and foremost, on my mind, is how to how to assemble that and obviously just trying to tread lightly and then do it exactly the way we need to," said Bayston, who has no races planned the rest of 2025 beyond this weekend's Trophy Cup. "To ensure that we've got the best opportunity to go have a good season next year.”