Defending NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Zane Smith started his season just like he did last year, winning the season-opening NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway.
Unlike last year, when he won the race in overtime, this event was instead shortened due to rain, with only 80 laps being completed. Smith passed Corey LaJoie a few laps prior to the delay and was declared the winner.
Tanner Gray finished second, followed by Christian Eckes, Colby Howard and Grant Enfinger to round out the top five.
Eckes Takes Stage One
Eckes, in his first race with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, was able to come away with the stage one victory, but it wasn’t without two different cautions on laps two and seven, respectively, for rain in the area.
Once the rain finally cleared and the field went green for the rest of the stage, Eckes was able to hold off the field, including Ty Majeski, who was side-by-side with Eckes before getting loose off of turn 4 and slipping back to sixth due to the loss of momentum.
Multi-Truck Wreck Plus Rain Results in Red Flag
On lap 29, Clay Greenfield snapped loose in the middle of the tri-oval and corrected back into the pack. Gray, Daniel Dye, Bret Holmes and Matt DiBenedetto only collected cosmetic damage, but Hailie Deegan, Dean Thompson and Greenfield all had to drop out of the race due to too much damage.
DiBenedetto and Deegan had contended early in stage one, finishing third and fourth, respectively, making the crash that much more painful for their teams.
The wreck occurred just as more mist had hit the track. Between the rain and fluid spilling out of Thompson’s wrecked No. 5, NASCAR threw the red flag to clean and dry the track before going back to racing with six laps to go in the stage.
Ankrum Wins Stage Two as Friesen Ignites Another Wreck
When the race restarted after the red flag, the six-lap sprint to the green-checkered stage end was intense as drivers pushed each other around the 2.5 mile track, causing several drivers to lose the rear end of their trucks. The FOX Sports 1 broadcasters were wondering how long they could continue getting away with the aggressive pushing.
Not long.
On the final lap of stage two, Ben Rhodes, who arguably had the fastest truck of the night, surged ahead on the outside lane and looked to pass the leader of the outside line, second-place Stewart Friesen. Friesen, however, misjudged the rate of speed that Rhodes was carrying and made a bad block, resulting in the No. 52 getting turned into the outside wall.
Rhodes received significant damage as well. Holmes was involved again, after making contact with Parker Kligerman. Both CR7 Motorsports trucks of Howard and Codie Rohrbaugh were also involved. Kligerman and Rohrbaugh’s nights ended early.
Meanwhile, the wreck meant the stage ended under caution, and Tyler Ankrum took home the stage two victory.
GMS Teammates Taken Out in Same Wreck
On lap 59, Rajah Caruth had a big run up the middle with help from Chase Elliott and looked to take advantage of a hole between Smith and Corey Heim.
Unfortunately, the hole closed up to quickly and Caruth’s truck was sent sideways. It looked for a moment like he had it saved but then the truck snapped around again, taking out DiBenedetto before sliding up the track and taking a hit square in the passenger side door by teammate Dye, who was already sideways while trying to avoid the wreck.
Both GMS trucks ended up on the hook.
The Winning Move
LaJoie obtained the lead by staying out at the end of stage two for track position, hoping perhaps the weather would return and he could land an upset win. Then, during the Caruth caution, he missed pit road due to a miscommunication between his team, and found himself in a different fuel situation than the rest of the field.
On the ensuing restart, LaJoie cleared to the lead and tried to block both lanes, with the inside led by Smith and the outside led by Ankrum. Eventually, going into turn 3, Ankrum and Smith split LaJoie, sending him three-wide and to the back of the pack.
Then the rain LaJoie needed to win the race came mere laps later.
LaJoie finished a disappointing 23rd on the night after leading 19 laps.
Rookie Report
With only 39 laps being run, it’s hard to give anyone Rookie of the Race, especially when three of the four rookies in the race crashed out. But shoutout to Nick Sanchez, who won the pole for his first career Truck start despite finishing 26th after pitting when it looked like the race would restart.
No. 2 – Nick Sanchez (26th)
No. 24 – Rajah Caruth (29th)
No. 32 – Bret Holmes (31st)
No. 43 – Daniel Dye (30th)
Paint Scheme of the Race
This one was no debate.
Friesen’s No. 52 was adorned by Aim Autism, who partnered with Friesen’s team for the race to promote its annual Aim Autism Golf Classic on April 17. The gradient rainbow that took over Friesen’s truck was not only a nice change from the team’s typical blue and red colors, but also a great way to promote the cause by highlighting the Autism Color Spectrum. The yellow numbers only helped make the scheme pop that much more.
One Thought About This Race
What was supposed to be an exciting night turned into a completely frustrating one on lap two. Three months of patiently waiting for NASCAR to return and we get … this.
NASCAR certainly can’t control rain (Florida rain, no less), but the longest green-flag run of the night was just 11 laps. The race could not get going, whether it was Mother Nature and her pop-up showers or an accident slowing the field.
Only 39 green-flag laps were completed, meaning we didn’t really get to see what these drivers have for the season. Some drivers in the field made their only start scheduled start of the season, but it didn’t really feel like they got that opportunity.
I also feel bad for those who worked their rear ends off for hours to get the track ready to complete the final 27 laps only for the trucks to run six laps and have it all wiped away by yet another rain shower.
Certainly no one to blame for what happened tonight, but a very frustrating start to the series’ season.
Where to Next?
Viva Las Vegas. OK, maybe not yet, as there is an off-week next week, but the Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will take place on Friday, March 3, at 9 p.m. ET. FOX Sports 1 will once again have the coverage.
Anthony Damcott joined Frontstretch in March 2022. Currently, he is an editor and co-authors Fire on Fridays (Fridays); he is also the primary Truck Series reporter/writer and serves as an at-track reporter, among many other duties he takes on for the site. A proud West Virginia Wesleyan College alum from Akron, Ohio, Anthony is now a grad student. He is a theatre actor and fight-choreographer-in-training in his free time.
You can keep up with Anthony by following @AnthonyDamcott on X.