NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Daytona

NASCAR Truck Series at Daytona
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
VenueDaytona International Speedway
LocationDaytona Beach, Florida, United States
Circuit information
SurfaceAsphalt
Length2.5 mi (4.0 km)
Turns4

Pickup truck racing events in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series have been held at Daytona International Speedway, in Daytona Beach, Florida during numerous seasons and times of year since 2000.

The Truck Series does not run restrictor plates, devices used by the Xfinity Series stock cars to reduce horsepower and slow the cars down at Daytona and Talladega. However, a "spacer plate" and aerodynamic disadvantages in the trucks compensate for the lack of a restrictor plate.

Current race

Fresh From Florida 250
Corporate sponsorFlorida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services[1]
First race2000
Distance250 miles (400 km)
Laps100
Stages 1/2: 20 each
Final stage: 60
Previous namesDaytona 250 (2000)
Florida Dodge Dealers 250 (2001–2005)
GM Flex Fuel 250 (2006)
Chevy Silverado HD 250 (2007–2008)
NextEra Energy Resources 250 (2009–2018)
NextEra Energy 250 (2019–2023)
Most wins (driver)Johnny Sauter (3)
Most wins (team)GMS Racing, Bobby Hamilton Racing & ThorSport Racing (3)
Most wins (manufacturer)Toyota (11)

The Fresh From Florida 250 is the first race of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series held annually at Daytona International Speedway. It is the Truck Series event of Speedweek – the series of races leading up to the Daytona 500.

Corey Heim is the defending winner of the event, having won it in 2025.

History

The inaugural running of the race in 2000 featured one of the most horrific wrecks in NASCAR history. Just past the halfway point of the race, Kurt Busch's truck made contact with that of Rob Morgan, turning him into Geoff Bodine's truck, sending Bodine careening airborne into the wall and catch fence just past the start-finish line. Bodine's truck burst into flames and flipped at least 10 times before coming to a stop toward Turn 1, causing a major wreck involving 13 trucks. Despite having serious injuries, Bodine survived and raced again later that year in May at Richmond. Although this race was largely overshadowed by this wreck, it was truly exciting as Mike Wallace made the last-lap pass on Andy Houston for the inaugural victory.[2]

The 2003 race featured a three-wide finish on the final lap between Rick Crawford, defending Daytona winner Robert Pressley, and that year's eventual champion Travis Kvapil, where the margin of victory was 0.027 seconds.[3]

In early 2004, it was announced that the race would move from Friday afternoon to Friday night and be run under the lights. Carl Edwards would go on to win the race, and Travis Kvapil (in a Toyota) finished second. The race was Toyota's first truck race.[4]

Kerry Earnhardt started from the pole in the 2005 race, but finished 35th due to an accident. Bobby Hamilton won from the 36th starting position, the farthest starting position for a driver to win.[5] The race was marred by a late caution resulting in confusion: Jimmy Spencer had held off Hamilton on the final lap before a caution was called just before both reached the finish line. Spencer, thinking he was the winner, celebrated in Victory Lane before NASCAR officials reviewed the finish and determined Hamilton was the leader at the time the caution was called and, thus, the winner.[6]

In 2007, another three-wide finish between Travis Kvapil, Johnny Benson Jr., and Jack Sprague, who won the race; the margin of victory was 0.031 seconds (second-closest finish). Sprague was the third driver to win from the pole.[7]

NextEra Energy Resources was the title sponsor of the race from 2009 to 2023

The 2009 race was the first under the new series title sponsorship of Camping World and for race title sponsor NextEra Energy Resources. Todd Bodine won, becoming the first driver to win back-to-back season-opening truck races at the Daytona International Speedway;[8] Kyle Busch finished second in both races. Also, Todd Bodine won the 2009 race without a sponsor.[8] Six days after the race, fifth-place finisher Ron Hornaday Jr. was docked 25 points, and owner DeLana Harvick was docked 25 owner points as a penalty for illegal shocks used in the race. Crew chief Rick Ren was placed on probation and fined $5,000 because of the violations.[9]

In the 2011 race, Michael Waltrip pulled off a slingshot last-lap pass on Elliott Sadler to win his first career Truck race in a No. 15 truck. The victory made Waltrip the 22nd driver to win in all of NASCAR's top three divisions. Although his truck failed post-race inspection because the right side of the spoiler had snapped, resulting in a penalty for his team, he kept the win as he was not running for Truck points.[10][11]

In 2017, 18-year-old Kaz Grala scored his maiden Truck Series victory, becoming the youngest race winner in Daytona history. Matt Crafton had been leading the race on the final lap before he was turned by a spinning Ben Rhodes and sent into a flip.[12]

In 2019, only nine drivers finished the race, with many being involved in wrecks. Austin Hill survived the carnage to win his first career Truck race.[13]

In 2020, Grant Enfinger won for the first time since Las Vegas in September 2018. Enfinger won in a three-wide photo finish in which he beat Jordan Anderson by 0.010 of a second with Codie Rohrbaugh in tow; the margin of victory made it the closest finish in the event's history.[14] Natalie Decker broke Jennifer Jo Cobb's record as the highest finishing woman in a Truck Series event by finishing fifth; Cobb's best finish was sixth in the 2011 event.[15] On lap 16, rookie Ty Majeski flipped onto his roof, sliding on it for several hundred feet on the banking before landing on the apron.[16]

The 2023 event marked the first time that the event failed to reach the 250-mile/100-lap distance. On-and-off showers plagued the event on five different occasions with three red flags. After an hour-long rain delay with 74 laps completed, drivers got back to their trucks only for it to start raining again, causing them to return to pit road. With 79 laps completed, NASCAR called the race over, with Zane Smith becoming just the second driver to win the event back-to-back (Todd Bodine was the first in 2008-2009). Of the 79 laps, only 38 were under green.[17]

In 2024, Fresh From Florida (an initiative/campaign of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services) became the title sponsor of the race, replacing NextEra Energy Resources, which had been the title sponsor of the race since 2009. This ended NextEra's long 15 year run as the title sponsor of the race.[1]

Past winners

Year Date No. Driver Team Manufacturer Race distance Race time Average speed
(mph) 		Ref
Laps Miles (km)
2000 February 18 2 Mike Wallace Ultra Motorsports Ford 100 250 (402.336) 1:55:00 130.152 [18]
2001 February 16 18 Joe Ruttman Bobby Hamilton Racing Dodge 104* 260 (418.429) 2:00:33 129.407 [19]
2002 February 15 18 Robert Pressley Bobby Hamilton Racing Dodge 100 250 (402.336) 1:47:03 140.121 [20]
2003 February 14 14 Rick Crawford Circle Bar Racing Ford 106* 265 (426.476) 2:04:34 127.642 [21]
2004 February 13 99 Carl Edwards Roush Racing Ford 100 250 (402.336) 2:13:15 112.57 [22]
2005 February 18 04 Bobby Hamilton Bobby Hamilton Racing Dodge 100 250 (402.336) 2:00:04 124.931 [23]
2006 February 17 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 102* 255 (410.382) 1:44:21* 146.622* [24]
2007 February 16 60 Jack Sprague Wyler Racing Toyota 100 250 (402.336) 2:07:24 117.739 [25]
2008 February 15 30 Todd Bodine Germain Racing Toyota 100 250 (402.336) 1:57:36 127.551 [26]
2009 February 13 30 Todd Bodine Germain Racing Toyota 100 250 (402.336) 2:02:11 122.766 [27]
2010 February 13* 17 Timothy Peters Red Horse Racing Toyota 100 250 (402.336) 2:10:06 115.295 [28]
2011 February 18 15 Michael Waltrip Billy Ballew Motorsports Toyota 103* 257.5 (414.406) 1:58:33 130.025 [29]
2012 February 24 7 John King Red Horse Racing Toyota 109* 272.5 (438.546) 2:17:13 119.169 [30]
2013 February 22 98 Johnny Sauter ThorSport Racing Toyota 100 250 (402.336) 1:45:56 141.598 [31]
2014 February 21 51 Kyle Busch Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota 100 250 (402.336) 1:45:10 142.631 [32]
2015 February 20 19 Tyler Reddick Brad Keselowski Racing Ford 100 250 (402.336) 1:56:45 128.48 [33]
2016 February 19 21 Johnny Sauter GMS Racing Chevrolet 100 250 (402.336) 1:56:15 129.032 [34]
2017 February 24 33 Kaz Grala GMS Racing Chevrolet 100 250 (402.336) 1:55:38 129.72 [35]
2018 February 16 21 Johnny Sauter GMS Racing Chevrolet 100 250 (402.336) 2:04:36 120.385 [36]
2019 February 15 16 Austin Hill Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota 111* 277.5 (446.593) 2:39:20 104.498 [37]
2020 February 14 98 Grant Enfinger ThorSport Racing Ford 106* 265 (426.476) 2:04:53 127.319 [38]
2021 February 12 99 Ben Rhodes ThorSport Racing Toyota 101* 252.5 (406.359) 2:20:33 107.791 [39]
2022 February 18 38 Zane Smith Front Row Motorsports Ford 106* 265 (426.476) 2:03:07 129.146 [40]
2023 February 17 38 Zane Smith Front Row Motorsports Ford 79* 197.5 (317.845) 2:09:23 115.935 [41]
2024 February 16 2 Nick Sanchez Rev Racing Chevrolet 101* 252.5 (406.359) 2:33:08 98.933 [42]
2025 February 14 11 Corey Heim Tricon Garage Toyota 100 250 (402.336) 2:09:07 116.174 [43]
  • 2001, 2003, 2006, 2011–12, 2019–22, 2024: The race was extended due to a NASCAR Overtime finish. The 2012 event took three attempts, and the 2019 running took two attempts at overtime.
  • 2005: Jimmy Spencer was initially thought to be the winner after a caution was called just before the checkered flag, but Bobby Hamilton was ruled to be the leader when the caution was called and was scored as the winner.
  • 2006: Record for race time and average speed, even with overtime.
  • 2010: Race postponed from Friday to Saturday due to rain.
  • 2023: Race shortened due to rain.
  • 2025: Corey Heim scored as winner after Parker Kligerman was disqualified in post-race inspection.

Multiple winners (drivers)

# of wins Driver Years won
3 Johnny Sauter 2013, 2016, 2018
2 Todd Bodine 2008, 2009
Zane Smith 2022, 2023

Multiple winners (teams)

# of wins Team Years won
3 GMS Racing 2016-2018
Bobby Hamilton Racing 2001, 2002, 2005
ThorSport Racing 2013, 2020, 2021
2 Roush Racing 2004, 2006
Germain Racing 2008, 2009
Red Horse Racing 2010, 2012
Front Row Motorsports 2022, 2023

Manufacturer wins

# of wins Make Years won
11 Japan Toyota 2007-2014, 2019, 2021, 2025
8 United States Ford 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2015, 2020, 2022, 2023
4 United States Chevrolet 2016-2018, 2024
3 United States Dodge 2001, 2002, 2005

Former road course race

BrakeBest Select 159
Corporate sponsorO'Reilly Auto Parts
First race2020
Last race2021
Distance166.06 miles (267.25 km)
Laps44
Stage 1: 12
Stage 2: 13
Final stage: 19
Previous namesSunoco 159 (2020)
Most wins (driver)Sheldon Creed
Ben Rhodes (1)
Most wins (team)GMS Racing
ThorSport Racing (1)
Most wins (manufacturer)Chevrolet
Toyota (1)

The BrakeBest Select 159 presented by O'Reilly, also known as the BrakeBest Brake Pads 159, was a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race held at the Daytona International Speedway infield road course in Daytona Beach, Florida. Originally created in 2020 as a temporary event in response to races canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic, the race returned in 2021 for the same reason. The race didn’t return to the schedule in 2022.

Ben Rhodes was the final race winner of the race, having won it in 2021.

History

Trucks going through the frontstretch chicane in the 2020 race

The Daytona infield road course, which includes parts of the 2.5 mi (4.0 km) speedway oval, is most notably used for the 24 Hours of Daytona sports car race and Daytona 200 motorcycle race. In March 2020, NASCAR announced the NASCAR Cup Series' Busch Clash exhibition race would use the road course rather than the oval starting in 2021.[44]

Prior to schedule changes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park served as the Truck Series' lone road course race; due to the pandemic, it was canceled in July.[45] A new race on the Daytona road course was organized, which officially replaced the also-canceled event at Iowa Speedway.[46] Known as the Sunoco 159, it was the first leg of the Triple Truck Challenge that provided monetary rewards for the winner.[47] Although much of the road course layout remained the same as the sports car configuration, NASCAR added a frontstretch chicane exiting the oval's turn four to allow trucks to slow down entering the braking-heavy turn one.[48] Sheldon Creed, driving a Chevrolet, won the inaugural event in 2020, his second victory of the season to that point.[49]

While the event was intended to be just a temporary race for 2020, it returned in 2021 after the Cup and Xfinity Series races at Auto Club Speedway were canceled due to concerns related to COVID-19.[50] Although the Trucks did not have an Auto Club race, their round at Homestead–Miami Speedway was replaced for logistics reasons as the Homestead weekend was moved back one week in order to keep the teams in Daytona a second consecutive week.[51] The race became one of four Truck road course events, the most in series history.[52] O'Reilly Auto Parts became the title sponsor for the weekend's races, which renamed the Truck event to the BrakeBest Select 159.[53] Ben Rhodes won after holding off Creed on three overtime starts; the race began under "wet" conditions due to rain before the start, which allowed teams to strategize when to switch from rain tires to dry-weather racing slicks.[54]

The race was not renewed for 2022.[55]

Past winners

Year Date No. Driver Team Manufacturer Race Distance Race Time Average Speed
(mph) 		Ref
Laps Miles (km)
2020 August 16 2 Sheldon Creed GMS Racing Chevrolet 46* 166.06 (267.47) 2:02:21 81.435 [56]
2021 February 19 99 Ben Rhodes ThorSport Racing Toyota 51* 184.11 (296.542) 2:44:46 67.044 [57]

Manufacturer wins

# Wins Make Years Won
1 United States Chevrolet 2020
Japan Toyota 2021

References

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  2. ^ "Wallace wins Daytona's first truck race". ESPN. February 18, 2000. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  3. ^ "Crawford uses last-lap pass to snap 120-race winless skid". Sports Illustrated. February 14, 2003. Archived from the original on September 4, 2003. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  4. ^ Long, Mark (February 13, 2004). "Edwards flips over Daytona truck win". USA Today. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  5. ^ Graves, Gary (February 18, 2005). "Hamilton wins wild truck race at Daytona". USA Today. Daytona Beach, Florida. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  6. ^ "Hamilton Is Awarded Victory". Los Angeles Times. February 19, 2005. Retrieved February 15, 2025.
  7. ^ "Sprague Wins at Daytona, Has Sights Set on Fourth Championship". Kansas Speedway. February 18, 2007. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  8. ^ a b Adelson, Andrea (February 14, 2009). "Bodine wins truck race at Daytona". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on September 22, 2015. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  9. ^ "Hornaday docked 25 points for illegal shocks at DIS". NASCAR. February 19, 2009. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
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  12. ^ Pockrass, Bob (February 24, 2017). "NASCAR truck race marred by two crashes; no injuries reported". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  13. ^ Spencer, Reid (February 15, 2019). "NASCAR Daytona Truck results: Austin Hill wins wild season opener in overtime". Autoweek. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  14. ^ Engle, Greg (February 15, 2020). "Grant Enfinger Survives to Win Crash-Filled Truck Race at Daytona". Autoweek. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  15. ^ Seelman, Jacob (February 14, 2020). "Decker Earns Her Place In Truck Series History". Speed Sport. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  16. ^ Taranto, Steven (February 14, 2020). "Multi-truck accident sends Ty Majeski sliding on his roof". 247Sports. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
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  44. ^ Cain, Holly (March 4, 2020). "NASCAR's season-opening Busch Clash moving to Daytona road course in 2021". NASCAR. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  45. ^ "CTMP cancels NASCAR Trucks and CSBK events for 2020". Inside Track Motorsport News. July 8, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
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  50. ^ Estrada, Chris (December 8, 2020). "Schedule shuffle: Fontana races move to Daytona road course". NBC Sports. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  51. ^ "New 2021 Event Dates & Details Announced". Homestead–Miami Speedway. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  52. ^ Nguyen, Justin (December 8, 2020). "NASCAR's road course love story continues with Daytona RC addition to create Florida tripleheader, Fontana removed". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  53. ^ "O'Reilly Auto Parts 253 At DAYTONA Set for NASCAR Cup Series Race". Daytona International Speedway. February 16, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  54. ^ Cain, Holly (February 19, 2021). "Ben Rhodes opens season 2-for-2, outlasts Creed for Daytona Road Course win". NASCAR. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  55. ^ Lunkenheimer, Beth (September 29, 2021). "Truckin' Thursdays: Breaking Down the 2022 Truck Series Schedule". Frontstretch. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
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  57. ^ "2021 BrakeBest Brake Pads 159 Presented by O'Reilly". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved February 20, 2021.


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