Johnny Sauter is the fastest trucker in Daytona.
Sauter’s No. 13 ThorSport Racing Ford was the fastest qualifier of the whopping 46 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series entries attempting to qualify for tonight’s (Feb. 12) NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway.
The Wisconsin native posted a speed of 180.79 mph, good enough to start on the front row alongside last year’s Truck champion Sheldon Creed who clocked in at 180.29 mph in his No. 2 Chevrolet.
Grant Enfinger, Chase Purdy and Raphael Lessard round out the top five starters.
Several trucks encountered trouble during the session.
James Buescher‘s time was disallowed after he crossed the double yellow line attempting to get a draft from a Hailie Deegan‘s truck who was slow on the apron after she had already completed her lap. Buescher has to use the past champion’s provisional to claim the final spot on the grid.
Clay Greenfield was slated to be the first qualifier on the track, but his Toyota failed to fire on the gird. Once the 36-year-old finally did get on track, the No. 68 lost power on the high banks before he could post a time. Greenfield had to rely on owner points to get in the field and did not qualify.
Tim Viens was also not so lucky. The 44-year-old did not post a time either after the entire drive shaft of his No. 83 Chevrolet fell out of the truck on pit road. With not enough owner’s points, Viens did not qualify to race.
Along with Viens and Greenfield, Jesse Iwuji, Joe Nemechek, Parker Kligerman, Todd Peck, Ray Ciccarelli, Norm Benning and Dawson Cram did not qualify.
Daytona Truck Starting Lineup
The NextEra Energy Resources 250 is set to go green tonight, February 12 at 7:30 p.m. ET with TV coverage provided by Fox Sports 1.
Never at a loss for words, Zach Gillispie is a young, talented marketing professional from North Carolina who talks and writes on the side about his first love: racing! Since joining Frontstretch in 2018, Zach has served in numerous roles where he currently pens the NASCAR 101 column, a weekly piece delving into the basic nuts and bolts of the sport. Additionally, his unabashedly bold takes meshed with that trademarked dry wit of his have made Zach a fan favorite on the weekly Friday Faceoff panel. In his free time, he can be found in the great outdoors, actively involved in his church, cheering on his beloved Atlanta Braves or ruthlessly pestering his colleagues with completely useless statistics about Delma Cowart.