Tracking the Trucks: Parker Kligerman’s Feel-Good Story Wiped Away By DQ

In A Nutshell

Corey Heim began his third full-time season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series on a high note, winning the season opener at Daytona International Speedway.

Unfortunately, Heim’s win comes at the expense of Parker Kligerman, who crossed the finish line first and was originally declared the winner. However, Kligerman was disqualified and stripped of the win after failing post-race inspection.

Heim, who has come up short of the championship two years in a row, starts 2025 hot, something his competitors likely did not want to happen this early in the season, let alone the season opener.

The Top Truckers at Daytona International Speedway

Winner: Corey Heim
Polesitter, Stage 1 Winner: Ben Rhodes
Stage 2 Winner: Matt Crafton
Most Laps Led (34 of 100 laps): Chandler Smith
Fastest Lap: Layne Riggs (47.212 seconds, 190.630 mph)
Rookie of the Race, Biggest Mover (started 34th, finished second): Gio Ruggiero

Top Storylines of the Race

• With 38 trucks on the entry list, two drivers missed the show. Those two drivers ended up being Justin Carroll and Bryan Dauzat.
• Several drivers ran into issues during qualifying. Tyler Ankrum’s lap was disallowed for failure to stop at a brake check properly before beginning his lap. Stewart Friesen did not seal the trackbar on his No. 52 Toyota to NASCAR’s specifications and was not permitted to complete a lap. Gio Ruggiero had an issue in his qualifying lap that saw him qualify two seconds off the pace. In the final round of qualifying, Johnny Sauter had a tire issue that prevented him from going for the pole.
• It took just five laps for the first caution to come out when Kaden Honeycutt snapped loose from the lead off of turn 4 and hit the inside wall, ending his night after a really promising beginning.
• Ankrum’s night went from bad to worse, as a blown engine ended the night of the No. 18 team.
• While the race was surprisingly clean, it was not absent of accidents. The dreaded ‘Big One’ struck with just 16 laps to go, and the race ended under caution due to another big wreck in turn 4 on the final lap.

The Winning Move

Kligerman restarted up front on the final restart and was able to hang with leader and polesitter Ben Rhodes for the final dozen laps. When the field stormed through the tri-oval to take the white flag, Kligerman led the outside lane and jostled with Rhodes several times heading down the backstretch.

As the field entered turn 3, contact between some trucks sent Rhodes sliding down through the infield, taking him out of contention for the win. The field wrecked more through turns 3 and 4, and Kligerman was ahead. However, Heim had a huge run off turn 4 and geared to duel Kligerman to the checkered flag.

However, NASCAR threw the caution while Kligerman was still clearly ahead, giving him the win at the time. However post-race inspection revealed that Kligerman’s truck had improper ride heights. So NASCAR stripped him of the win and gave it to Heim.

Henderson Motorsports will appeal the DQ.

Championship Rundown

With Kligerman’s DQ, Heim becomes the first to lock himself into the 2025 playoffs. He and TRICON Garage now have 14 more races to play with house money in preparation for another playoff run. And with the way the last two seasons have gone, it’s hard to not pick the No. 11 as an instant championship favorite.

Rookie Report

Author’s Note: For those new to reading this column — first of all, welcome! The classification of “rookie” for this section is any driver who either 1) is competing for Rookie of the Year in 2025, and/or 2) has made 10 or less career starts in the Truck Series. Those running for Rookie of the Year will have an asterisk (*) next to their name, and Frontstretch’s weekly Rookie of the Race will be displayed in bold.

Ruggiero starts his rookie campaign off strong with an impressive runner-up finish. Ruggiero’s day started on the wrong note with his aforementioned issue in qualifying that buried him deep in the field to start the race. But he was able to snake his way through the chaos to earn the silver spot on the nonexistent podium.

No. 02 — Nathan Byrd (31st)
No. 5 — Toni Breidinger* (28th)
No. 07 — Michael McDowell (26th)
No. 17 — Gio Ruggiero* (second)
No. 26 — Dawson Sutton* (25th)
No. 33 — Frankie Muniz* (10th)
No. 77 — Andres Perez* (14th)
No. 81 — Connor Mosack* (32nd)

One Big Takeaway From This Race

This year’s truck field contains two more full-time drivers who are NASCAR veterans — Chandler Smith and Daniel Hemric.

Smith controlled the field the longest, pacing the show for 34 laps, while Hemric led seven laps of his own. The pair finished sixth and seventh, respectively, with Smith leading the charge. Add in the veterans like Rhodes, Crafton, and defending champion Ty Majeski, and we have a field stacked with drivers with years of experience under their belt.

So why am I telling you this?

Up until the final 20 laps, when the race broke out into true Daytona fashion, this race was one of the cleanest we’ve seen in a while. Is this a sign of things to come? Does having a more veteran presence in the sport mean the cleaner racing we saw in 2024 will continue into 2025 — and perhaps even clean up more?

With the rising lack of respect in NASCAR, one used to be able to pinpoint the Truck Series as the main culprit. But since 2024, something changed. While the poor racing appeared to stick around, the Truck Series had some noticeably cleaner racing, with only a few run-ins here and there.

Now, we have two more veterans in the field to help guide the young guns. Maybe that’s just what this series needs to get over the hump and become the premier series it once was.

Talkin’ Truckers

Norm Benning talked about the joy of making the race in his self-owned truck:

Carroll and Dauzat talk about the heartbreak of missing the season opener, and preview what’s next on their schedules:

Honeycutt breaks down his earlier crash from the lead:

Pre-Kligerman DQ, Heim discussed what more he needed to win; Tanner Gray (22nd) also broke down his night.

Ruggiero says his “truck drove great tonight” en route to a runner-up finish:

Smith (sixth) and Riggs (13th) are already working together well as teammates at Front Row Motorsports:

Majeski (third), Jason White (eighth) and Frankie Muniz (10th) talk about their top-10 finishes:

Benning (16th) was frustrated that he didn’t have a shot to win the race with a truck so fast:

Sauter gives a realistic update on his racing future after his 17th-place finish:

Crafton (27th) irate with the field for the way they raced:

Paint Scheme of the Race

What a paint scheme to start your rookie campaign with.

You won't be able to miss @connormosack next Friday in this @FoJFoundation Chevrolet at @DAYTONA! 🤩#NASCAR pic.twitter.com/FDPfivNvLk

— Bill McAnally Racing (@BMR_NASCAR) February 6, 2025

Connor Mosack made his full-time debut as the driver of the No. 81 for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, replacing Daniel Dye (who drove the No. 43 beforehand). While NAPA Auto Parts (a long-time sponsor of Bill McAnally’s team) will sponsor Mosack for several races, he started the season with the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation aboard his truck.

This author is a big fan of bright, multicolored paint schemes (dare I say Dale Earnhardt’s Peter Max scheme is one of my favorites?) and as such enjoyed seeing Sheldon Creed’s Friends of Jaclyn paint schemes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series last season.

However, this bright combination of blue, yellow and purple that adorns Mosack’s truck makes it stand out and looks even better than Creed’s paint scheme.

Next Stop

Let’s get some peaches out in Georgia.

The 2025 Truck Series season is officially underway, and it heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway next as part of a doubleheader with the Xfinity Series. Kyle Busch won last year’s edition of the race.

Coverage for the Fr8 208 at Atlanta begins at 1:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Feb. 22. Television coverage can be once again be found on FOX Sports 1, while Motor Racing Network continues its season-long radio coverage of the Truck Series.

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