NCTS Race Recap: Fresh from Florida 250

The Fresh From Florida 250 at Daytona International Speedway saw wild racing for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Ben Rhodes was the fastest truck in qualifying so he started on pole. Alongside him was reigning series champ Ty Majeski and Corey Heim started the race in third. The talent was spread throughout the field as they started the race and the season. Connor Mosack had to be towed to the garage before the start due to engine issues.

Early Action

Rhodes and Majeski planned the start of the race perfectly. Rhodes got in front and was able to drop in front of Majeski to get in a line. Grant Enfinger was able to split them up before the pack got up to speed.

Suddenly, Kaden Honeycutt bumped Rhodes down the backstretch and was able to get alongside him. Honeycutt got loose and spun into the inside wall with some help from Chandler Smith. That brought out the first caution. During the caution, Matt Crafton, who was having engine issues, pulled his truck down pit road for his crew to get under the hood and inspect.

Rhodes and Tanner Gray brought the field back to green. Rhodes and his teammate Johnny Sauter worked great together even getting out in front for a straightaway. Crafton, again, complained about his engine shutting off.

Enfinger snuck his way into the lead after restarting fifth. The next caution came out when Toni Breidinger spun her truck off of turn four. She may have had help from Giovanni Ruggiero. That set up a one-lap shootout to end the stage.

Rhodes and Enfinger restarted on the front row with Sauter and Gray behind them. Enfinger got a great push from Gray. Rhodes caught back up and blew the doors off of Enfinger. Enfinger made a last-second effort to pass but could not make it happen. Rhodes got the stage win with tremendous help from Sauter. The crew of Rhodes went under his hood during the caution.

Tick, Tick, Tick

Daniel Hemric and Justin Haley brought the field back to green. No changes, just beating the bumpers off of the truck in front to start the stage. A third lane tried to form with Parker Kligerman in front. They managed to get from mid-pack to the front and to the lead. After pushing Kligerman into the lead, Enfinger wanted the lead for himself. He made the pass and got in front of Kligerman. Crafton was then able to maneuver his way into the lead making a three-wide pass. Crafton had teammates Rhodes and Majeski behind him.

The three Fords used the top lane to keep their lead. They were able to pull out and maintain the connection to tick off laps. The inside line had no chance to pass as they could not get gathered together enough to make a pass. Ultimately, Crafton got the stage win with his teammates behind him.

Jockeying for spots

Corey Heim and Hemric brought the field back to green. Hemric was able to get ahead but not for long. Jack Wood was shuffled to the back of the pack four wide! Ankrum was also shuffled to the back. Ankrum lost his engine going into turn one on lap forty-nine. Dawson Sutton got turned around as a result of it. “Just blew up,” is what Ankrum reported back to the team.

Chandler Smith and Hemric brought the field back to green. Kligerman pushed Smith with Jack Wood behind Hemric. Smith took the lead and immediately got down in front of Hemric. The top line looked able to maintain speed while the bottom could not stay together. A blanket could have covered the top twenty trucks. The field then fanned out a bit, assembling into an almost single file line on the bottom line.

Green Flag Pit Stops, Not for All

Pit stops began with Enfinger getting hit in his rear bumper and then receiving a speeding penalty. The Fords remained on the track and were not able to pit before the caution came out. Clay Greenfield brought out the sixth caution after spinning off of turn four.

Rajah Caruth and Ruggiero brought the field to the green flag. Ruggiero snagged the lead with Gray pushing. Smith took the lead when Riggs pushed him out front on the top line. Through the field, the aggression increased with twenty to go. Four wide in multiple lines forced Ruggiero below the double yellow line. However, he was able to keep it straight.

Then, the pressure was on.

The seventh caution came out when Wood got into the outside wall. Wood did have some help getting turned into the wall. Several trucks were involved including Caruth, Michael McDowell, Crafton, Breidinger, and Nathan Byrd.

Race to the Finish

Smith and Gray brought the green back out. Gray got a bad push and it upset his truck. He managed to keep it straight but lost the lead. Smith and Riggs locked bumpers to get to the front. Ruggiero scampered out front for the lead, and trucks were three by three, five rows deep behind him.

The inside lines died out as the outside line took off. Smith and Riggs were pushing but lost a lot of positions due to damage to Smith. The bottom line tried to form up to no avail. Bayley Currey took charge of the inside. He dove out and took the line to the front. Ruggiero missed a block and lost a lot of positions. With four to go Currey led the race.

Currey got shuffled out leaving Rhodes to assume the lead. Kligerman, in second, pushed the leader. Kligerman scooted out in front of Gray and into the lead. Rhodes quickly shut that down taking it back. The white flag saw Kligerman and Rhodes side by side.

The Finish

Kligerman and Rhodes led the final circuit until Rhodes got turned around with Johnny Sauter. Riggs got loose in the middle of turn three and turned in front of Smith and Hemric. Heim was right behind Kligerman as NASCAR threw the caution to end the Fresh From Florida 250!

Unfortunately, Kligerman finished the race in first but was disqualified after post-race inspection as the height on the rear of his truck was too low.

After all was said and done, Corey Heim was declared the winner!

Marvin’s Minute:

I hate that the race ended like that. It was a great race. So much jam-packed tight racing was impressive considering the last few seasons have been tough to watch in the Truck Series.

Parker Kligerman fought so hard to be out front, and to see it wasted because of post-race inspection is tough. I don’t have the answer, I will admit. The Truck Series will continue in Atlanta next Saturday. Follow me all season for the Xfinity and Truck series recaps!