NextEra Energy 250 | NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Full Race Replay

Foreigner looks like a front line, isn't it like that all over the field? Since Todd Majeski started on the outside of that front row, he was thinking how am I going to get down because that's the goal. I think we want to go down. He has. big push yeah Christian Nexus did a good job on that Napa

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to take him down unfortunately he couldn't pass Sanchez too but here comes Matt Crafton to give a push and look there changing lanes making sure he's the fastest . lane but Jeske is high leading that first lap you see these

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s moving, get used to that, that's the part I have to get used to because they are going to do it all night and this is good since it will be their tires.

They are relatively new, this is the best these trucks will be and they will be bouncing all night. I talked to Chase about it a little earlier today. I said: Does the bouncer on your truck move as much as it looks? On TV, he said, "You know, no, my truck is pretty good, it'll be interesting to see if his confidence in his truck gets him through this field." Series veteran Matt Crafton, three-time champion and that bright yellow 88, big boost to Christian's 19th. Equus is now leading and now we have a yellow caution flag coming out, we understand there's a little bit of rain in turns one and two and you can see it on our cameras there, kind of okay, that's a little frustrating.

For these drivers it's just part of it, isn't it? Yeah, you can't plan anything when you get to Daytona, what's going to happen next, okay, two laps in the rain and the first corner, okay, if that happens three minutes early, you'll never turn green. It's good or bad that you got the

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, I think it's great, I think it's great too, and in a clean start too and an exciting start, a big push from Crafting to Eckers to get it out in front of Tom Majeski, look at Matt, but then Benedetto up there in fourth place, now we knew there was a chance of some isolated showers.

The forecast doesn't call for heavy rain or all-night events, but there is talk of practicing patience at Daytona, the first opportunity to do so here, uh, the radar, yeah, almost nothing. Really, where is Larry McReynolds when you need them? You know, I mean, he thinks he's a meteorologist. Yes, we'll step aside right on the way. Quick warning for a stray rain shower back to Daytona after you see this on FS1. On Sunday, the 2023 NASCAR regular season begins with a big American

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, Daytona 500 coverage begins Sunday on FS1 at 11 a.m. ET, we arrive on Fox at one with race day and we're green with the first 20-23 run just after 2:30 ET live on Fox in the It would be hard to bet on the Fox Sports app against one of those Five Guys, wouldn't it be all about them ?

They would certainly have a chance to go to Victory Lane at Daytona, but then another 20 probably true, one of those guys already won Daytona. 500 three times Denny Hamlin is your favorite Phil. I think so. I mean, again we've talked about it before, when we look at Derek Krause's 20 at Pit Road, you can get lucky once, maybe and win a Daytona, no. I'll be lucky three times Derek Krause came in, as did Tyler Ankrum Ankrum didn't have a great qualifying today, so he didn't give up a great track position. There is a great story here. Chase Purdy driving for Kyle Busch was excellent in qualifying. to the second round today which means he won't start worse than the 10th flat tire, he can't race in the second round so he officially starts 10th because they had to change the unapproved tire fit, he falls backwards, it's heartbreaking for This child, yes, but he made good progress.

He was watching the scoring monitor when the yellow flag came out just two laps in. He was in the top 25, so he has a great truck. I know you are excited about this season and expect good things from Chase Purdy. This year the whole Kbm story will be really fun to follow since they came out, they have been a Toyota team and now they made that change and Kyle showed a lot of speed last night driving his Chevy for Richard Childress Racing I. I expect great things from this team but you know Kyle Busch going from Joe Gibbs Racing after 15 years to Richard Childress Racing and changing his Alliance manufacturer from Toyota Chevy is really what created this domino effect of change here at Craftsman Truck.

Series, yes, exactly when he left Toyota, the network went to avoid at Toyota and then, and then when David Gillen went ahead, that left a void at Ford, that's why all the dominoes fell like Travis Pastrana did , yeah, the guys around us really, uh, really made it back there you know what's really important for Travis is learning in these first few laps to not only try to win this race tonight, but he's in the 500 Daytona, everything he gets tonight in the draft at this track will answer what he will do. I saw him on Sunday afternoon and you know, what impressed me is the fact that he knew everyone around him, he knows the players, you have to study this game, there is the goal, the color spectrum of autism , the truck driver, who is so beautiful, Stuart Prieson, his wife Jess, a beautiful son, Parker. everyone down there before the race with big smiles on their faces.

I love Parker and how excited he is. He climbs into the back of that truck when Stewart wins. It's a big family. What a great cause. How is my career going here to aim for. autism, that's the most colorful, beautiful truck I think I've ever seen, yeah, it really is that Stewart struggled a little bit in qualifying, which was surprising, a couple more trucks on Pit Road, Zane Smith, yeah, how about he drove Love's truck down Pit Road? That is interesting. You think it's early driving your shoes, it already fell with the truck, so what was the problem?

I think maybe they feel like they're in their window and they don't even have to stop at the end of the first stage. I like it. that and get to the second stage and then stop, put four tires on and that leaves them a chance, maybe just a little bit of gas on that third stage because they will definitely have to stop on the third stage, no, no, no doubt, because we're set on Windows 35 laps, so you go into the pits right now, it's 35 laps and that doesn't really even take into account the fact that we're going to run all those caution laps at the end of the stage and if we get another caution between now and then. for an incident on the track so I think it makes a lot of sense to do that and there are some trucks that have chosen to stay back, we saw Zane Smith pass Daniel died, a couple of other trucks to get into position for this restart, some guys they're just trying to learn, I think it's very smart for Daniel because he wants to see what the draft is about, what the truck feels like and he's back there, stay there for a while.

I don't have any problem with that and as you mentioned they didn't have any draft practice yesterday because of the mechanical issues they had. The rain is gone and we are preparing for the restart. Front row Christian Equus alongside his old teammate Matt Crafton in the yellow 88 in the outside lane. we complete the last six when we turn green. One thing we didn't mention is that the pick rule is now in effect at super speedways for these trucks and the restart zone has been expanded at almost all racetracks where it rained. one and two that caused the yellow flag, now some rush in turns three and four, that means they put us under the yellow flag, do you know what I think as a driver when they threw the green flag to start this race and we ran a couple ? laps in the range you say okay you know we gotta get going but now you're irritated come on we gotta get this going and when you said his old team you meant Ole, re Matt Craft old teammate over there.

Wow, yeah, old team, we were talking to Ben Rhodes yesterday and he called to create a Grizzly, old veteran, Grizzly. I want to talk to you about Matt Crafton. I also spoke to him yesterday. I've never heard him more excited about the start of a season. They finished the season last night last year, sorry for what you thought was a really strong note, you felt like you were in a good position when the season ended and you can't wait to get going this year and see it through to the end in that in that second position on board with Ben Rhodes here, another Thor Sport driver driving Ford this season, Ben won at Daytona two seasons ago, one in a row here, when the season started, the next week, one on the road course came to Phoenix and won. the championship there is Matt Crafton look what he has to say on the radio he you know three lots to get up to 40. so skip one.

I'm making a good bet, yes those are the caution flags, obviously you save a lot of gas. and then drivers can also press the clutch, turn off the engine sometimes and save gas and these engines are fuel injected so they can save a lot of fuel because it is very efficient with fuel injection. Matt De Benedetto, they We're in third position at Talladega, but it's been fun to see him have the speed that he has here at Daytona. I haven't seen that for a while for Matt, how about Ben Rhodes, Jamie is 16th right now and you mentioned we all are.

I mentioned the offseason switch from Thor Sport to Ford and you know you're just thinking about the trucks they have here at the track tonight, but this is a big seasonal assignment and Cody, who runs his fabulous shop, has had. To have 60 trucks ready for this season, think about all the variations and tracks we run. Super Speedways, Intermediates, Circuits, Dirt, Show Cars, we know everything they are responsible for. This whole team is excited about this season, all the drivers. They seem rejuvenated, the team leaders are rejuvenated, it's time, everything was in the garage yesterday and well, he had a little hit, a little rebound and although he couldn't turn back, it is very difficult to win two championships in a row and when you consider the season which he put together last year winning on dirt at Bristol and coming back to Phoenix and being eligible for the Championship even though he didn't claim the big trophy that was a successful campaign in 2022.

He was and I spoke to him in the garage yesterday and he talked about Phoenix said: I've

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ed that reboot, the final reboot over and over again, what could I have done differently? I know he could have done something different and been better, so he's just hungrier than To get that second championship, Ben Rhodes of Louisville, Kentucky, a lot of drivers come from the Southeast, but nowadays drivers come from all over the country, people tune into Fox to watch Nascar when they were kids and they just want to be a part of it, I remember that. when he made his first orchestra at Kentucky and everyone knew he was going to be a player then, this is what you talked about about the overtime restart to decide the championship that's been in '99, let Zane get under him, Zane will go on and grab that win Ben Roe.

He showed a lot of speed there in Phoenix, but he really felt like he left something on the table on that restart. What about those two guys who held out coming out of turn four to try and grab that beautiful trophy? Zane Smith was able to do just that. I know Chandler Smith was there in the mix and it was also time to adjust, yeah I mean, you're late in the race, the championship four were running head-to-head and had a legitimate chance to celebrate on the biggest stage, but Zane Smith walks. far from that and when you consider his history and what happened in 2020 and 2021, the runner-up left Phoenix a couple of years ago without knowing what his future is, just a magical 2022 with four victories in the big crown that you mentioned that they choose.

The rules are now in effect at Super Speedways, including obviously here at Daytona, and NASCAR has informed us that we will choose this time, which indicates that it won't be long until we race again and I love it. The fact that you now have to choose is the rule everywhere, with the exception of road courses, but because you want to position yourself with your friend, whether it's your teammate or the same manufacturer or whatever, it will be interesting to see in this choice. because you have Christian Neckis, Matt Crafton running head to head, he won a Chevrolet and a Ford, but Matt De Benedetto right now is in third place in the Chevrolet, so while Eckers is trying to get to Benedetto to go with him, there is a lot of talk on the radio. and so on about that Phil, what line I want to be on, who will be behind me pushing if I choose the inside or the outside, you mentioned that Benedetto's Travis Pastrana is now on Pit Road, you mentioned that Benedetto in that victory at Talladega qualified. 30 and took the win in qualifying for the top 10 at Talladega here running out front from the start, guess what you say, Adam.

I like this play, although you heard Shane Wilson talk to Matt Crafton about it and we might be able to pull it off. anyway, yeah, I mean you don't necessarily have to stop and you can still get to the end of the stage in stage two. I must say thatThat's what Travis Pastrana is, he's a global Express, he races around the world in a Hurry up, hey, we were talking about this and he's an athlete. I mean, we've had this debate so many times about our drivers, unquestionable athletes, he's an athlete, but he's never seen Travis up close and personal this weekend, he looks like an NFL tightie. end, I mean he's the kind of guy that will tear you apart and if you get out of your truck to challenge him you'll end up walking in the other direction, you know, yeah, here's the guy, what an incredible resume and like you mentioned, Motorsport. all forms of racing and motorcycle Supercross Did you tell about him before?

He was going to drive for you and he had to cancel, yeah, because he jumped on something and broke both his legs and you know he was so sorry for us. because he couldn't, couldn't drive the car like a man, you're hurt, okay, we'll go back to the green flag as we complete 10 laps here at Daytona, eckus on the inside, working out the outside, let's try this one more time, these restarts. it's all about pushing and you can see Benedetto is there at the back of Equus, as is Majeski on the map, teammates lined up on the outside, from Thor sport to Thor sport Ford with

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ship in the yellow 88.

Ben Rose and the black and orange number 90. Haley Deegan gave a push and right behind her in that 35 white, fourth in line and the outside row Chase Elliott Grant toe behind him in the 23 yellow and black for GMS who won here at Daytona and Jay White right on the inside of Chase Elliott, as you can see those trucks close together coming out of turn four, Jay gets a little high in turn four, you gotta be careful, he hasn't raced at Daytona Talladega in quite a few years, these things start moving around you. You have to be very precise because you slide up just a couple of feet and cause a big crash, yeah, or open up that lane, but someone is going to drive that truck there, but if you make that mistake early, it's a lesson you learn. it just makes you better and more prepared for the rest of the day, these trucks will start to swerve and slide and you can see that one truck, the orange truck, about four or five back, is not pinned, pinning it to the bottom, I think there it's where he wants to be his truck he's just not allowed to do it Jeske time in that big push of 98 Matt Crafton teammates working together and pushing him to the front in that outside lane look at Matt De Benedetto running inside the line second that white and blue the number 25 Rackley Roofing Chevrolet pushing that 19.

Nick Sanchez, the rookie up there in the mix doing a good job, you know, Phil, for a kid who hasn't done this before. I like him to be third, fourth, fifth behind in line. Being in all positions to learn how to execute and win the race ahead and right behind him, call Jack Wood driving the 51 for Kyle Busch. He's holding up tremendously early in the standings today. The Chevys were fast in practice yesterday. and it seems to be fine now that we are in racing conditions, keep an eye on that truck a few back, it just can't stay down and you see Gap losing out there.

I don't think that truck is handling well for him and Poor truck handling at Daytona in a tight draft is not fun. Remember Jay White came here. He had to qualify on time. Maybe they trimmed that truck a little to try to make sure he could qualify. He had a great effort in qualifying. he is paying for it now a small lack of downforce possibly, what about Crafton? He elected to move forward and get in front of his teammate Tom Majeski. He was leading the race. He watched his teammate move up to get that spot and opened the door for Derek Krauss, after a couple of early warnings due to rain in the area, we haven't seen many green flag races but we are seeing it now and missing With seven laps left in the opening stage, Matt Crafton has great momentum again. the outside lane takes over the top spot, went around Equis and that Napa truck at the bottom and took the lead.

The interior has the race right there with you, thanks, it's very interesting to see Matt make those decisions. He clearly had the lead at the bottom, but decided to pull out of the lead to pick up his teammate. Arriving at lap 15, just six laps left to go to the end of stage one, man, I talked about you, reminding me to stay calm. . I just know how difficult this is and how difficult it is. It's with someone putting pressure on you to keep that truck straight. I wonder how Matt feels about the decision to disappear now that they have fallen to fourth position on the outside, yes, three Chevrolets, Chevrolets lined up on the inside as well.

That's right, but there are five Chevrolets lined up now inside to that big offender champion Chevrolet, the yellow one, the black one, and I guess we shouldn't be surprised that eccus and divinadetto are doing positive things in that interior. Lane eckus led the most laps last fall at Talladega Matt De Benedetto, like we said before, took the checkered flag, they understand this style of racing and right behind them our pole sitter made his

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debut of trucks, the current ARCA champion, Nick Sánchez, looks good from the beginning, this is very valuable. For Nick, Sanchez can be up there in that lead group logging laps feeling that truck as the tires heat up and start to wear off, which he has to prepare for as we race towards the Checker and I love the fact that he doesn't feel it. like he needs to get up there and push Matt De Benedetto on 25.

There's plenty of time to do that, four laps to get to stage one, eccus of Benedetto down with Nick Sanchez up top Matt Crafton looking for his first Daytona win and just behind. With two of his teammates, you have time in Jeske and Hadley Deegan driving the 13

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-time in 2023. Chase Elliott out of that outside lane all the way to line up with those Chevys, but look at this push, what a great move! The store's SUVs just did that outside. Lane starts to break down a little. Oh, are you there? That's what I'm talking about. It's very hard to keep that truck down when you have one on the outside.

Look at this group. and most of these drivers that you see behind the lead group made pit stops they didn't have much track position and I guess they made the decision that we don't want to invest in whatever may be happening. there and when you go back like this, Adam, you can also save gas, so there might be other drivers who are backing up just to get off the gas pad and make sure they can make it to the end of stage two and Michael. This is exactly what Zane Smith told me today he would do.

He said that if we can't be in the top five in the first stage, then we would just sit back and protect our truck. We would do everything we could to make sure we were there at the finish line. At the end of the night, the team had this plan for today. It's easy to see the big picture when you've won a championship. Everything comes to you a little slower. Change your perspective. Two to move on to stage one. It still seems like the rhythm. lap, I just know that I don't feel like I'm on the pace lap.

Been there and done that, it's crazy, Crafton is hanging, baby, well, fire coming out of the exhaust because someone backed off the throttle too much in the middle of the corner, what? Is all this teaching you for later tonight? What he's showing Nick Sanchez is how loose this truck can get if you get on from the bottom. Everyone is learning something. They are learning how to drive their truck. They are learning to let off the accelerator. and take advantage of the runs so I can pick up help behind Haley Deegan doing an oh look look how loose these guys are getting that was 10 or gray I think the 15 truck got loose look at Tyler Jeske jumping towards the Outside of teammate Matt Crafton, he now leads a lap to reach stage one.

Christian Eckus lets go as they pass the tri-ovil and head back into turn one. I'm pulling for it to come back, go back one more time, half way. Outside of you, most of these spotters will be working all weekend. The best spotters in the business help these types of trucks. Here the rolls are reversed. It was Equis and Divinity down below, now they're working together against those Thor sports Fords in the low lane. you're on top, let's see how it ends here in the initial stage a little Bobble there, Majeski comes out of the corner, saves it but loses a lot of position.

Stage one goes to 19 and that's christianeckis or they voted a catastrophe they're coming out of turn four yeah they did a big slide there for truck 19 everyone take a deep breath yeah Mikey you're okay I told you I've been in bad shape Since I came through the tunnel it only gets worse with each passing lap, Christianeckis got a stage win a year ago on the new team and is hitting a thousand in 2023 and that's why we're breathing deeply. Tai majeski all around holds on and finishes sixth in foreign stage one. foreigner, let's go to Amanda. I spoke to Matt and Benedetto about the importance of pit stops earlier this week and he said that it is his own art and that it was his cup experience that helped him become so proficient at it that it was a pit stop. fuel only. for this team and with Haley Deegan in the number 13 related to her team that is losing the nose on the front, it was also a fuel stop for her too Regan on the 19th for christianette gets a little adjustment on that truck they went with a little more than they wanted, just getting ahead for later in the race, a little bit of freedom with him right now to accelerate and get out of most of these teams, but we saw Zane Smith come in and put four tires on his truck, believe.

That means he didn't like the bill for his truck now. I think he also needs to improve his handling. Here is a small summary of the first stage. Christian Eckers' second stage win in his career. Matt Crafton holds on to finish the second strong race for Matt De Benedetto. Haley Deegan. Good start. The year in which Nick Sanchez starts from pole, the rookie finishes in fifth position in the second stage, in foreign FS1. Thanks Fox NASCAR live at Daytona International Speedway. It's great to have you with us this Friday night as we open 2023 with Stage One of the

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NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Christian Equus wins, everyone came down Pit Road with the exception of Stuart Friesen and now as we prepare for stage two it's Time to choose, sounds like a dance, let's choose what to do. "Everyone says it's a dance, what's up with that beautiful number 52?

Stuart Friesen has it on the front row. Yes, Tyler Ankrum was one of the trucks that stopped early on lap number eight, but now he has that position on the track. We know he can do it. until the end of this second stage, from seventh onwards, they stopped in the pits at the end of stage one, everyone who was in the top six stayed there and remembers the guys in the top six, which meant that they chose give away those points that you already know running. back and then take advantage of that now with the track position.

Points matter, you know you could miss the next one, you know, miss the playoffs by one point. These stage points are very important and it is interesting to see them as we move towards the second stage. what the strategy turns out to be for some of these teams and I think people can probably have that mentality. This is the first race of the year. The points area is important. You know, we need to position ourselves for the end of the year. race or whatever, but they're important week in and week out, you get to the end of the regular season, you can't come back here and take those points, you can't put toothpaste back in there, yeah, I don't think we could have asked for much.

More of that first stage than we had so much action, what's with that 52 Stuart that freezes Amanda? He was talking to the team and they chose to stay there, they said that his only turn towards good fuel, they are finding it well. uh, keeping that here, as we open up the race, expect to get through stage two with what's on the truck currently, it looks like there's a party going on in the pit below, doesn't it? Amanda is rocking there, we needed to get a picture of Amanda doing that shoot I know she was dancing I know she was I want one of those t-shirts See the travel t-shirt Bruce was wearing?

I want to see Kobe Howard, he's a, he's a human highlight reel, he's in that nine truck in that second row, he can drive a truck looser than anyone he's ever seen. I'm really excited about this kid making it to Victory Lane this year, how about outside the second row, Parker clergeman, that 75 always works well part time. base here on the truck

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after all. The cycle through stage two ends up being only 15 laps. Stewart Friesen, good jump on that outside lane, not much push eitherfrom that second row, but now they're coming closer, you can see Howard with the big run down the middle of the turn, he's going to stop right behind Tyler Ingram, several new faces here in the top ten now, after the scramble from the stop in the pits, they are already pushing, swaying and intertwining, look at that Parker Kriegerman race. behind Stuart Friesen as they go 1-2 on the inside lane, third truck back, it's the four of the new team Chase Purdy this year driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports, he talked about his misfortune during qualifying, but he's in the mix I think That's the hardest part. of the track, Phil, what do you think when you try to exit turn four while keeping your truck straight on that tight exit?

The test wasn't a straightaway, it's a curve and it's not banked anywhere near 31 degrees in the curve, about 18 degrees, I think in the triable, I think in percentage, we screwed up so much on the straights and even on the flat backstretch We can see it directly and we are not just talking about these drivers, a great push from the four of them. Chase a lot, we've done it in the middle, illustrator, everyone has that thing that could have happened to Kyle Busch last night, I'm sure you prepared yourself for Uncle Joe to have the third lane running. 25 go there with him, go with him, oh, three open, you don't. he wants to get caught in the middle he is very aggressive in that turn getting to that high side.

A couple of trucks decided to go with him now that the third lane is forming. Can you make an overtake? Can you get to the front? We know how fast that 19 truck is, Travis Pastrana right now, third row outside in that 41 truck and he's getting help or was getting help from his teammate Carson Hostovar who now decides he's going to die.inside do it three of wide Travis is getting a lot of help from the 19 of eccas maybe three up three You're going to roll if I'm Travis Pastrana I don't mind being on the outside I don't want to be on the inside in the middle, although I still don't know enough about this to make that decision, but he's waiting, look at him making progress too.

Hey, keep an eye on that nine truck right behind our leader Tyler Ankerman. Colby Howard has been bouncing around a lot, oh Daniel. dies and the yellow flag is removed, let's be our fourth of the night, first in the Greenfield clay incident, truck 84 is involved, it looked like Haley Deegan, 13, got a piece of that, that's Dean Thompson in the five that we saw shoot out from below. the back of that truck, Greenfield was a big mover, he had driven from the back of the pack to 11th place at the end of the first stage, yes the terminal damage right there on that truck needs to abandon it two yellow flags early for a A little bit of rain had the yellow flag on stage one and now a crash and there you see Haley Deegan's 13, bad damage to her Ford, that's not good, that truck was on fire, I don't know if she'll drive, yeah obviously , that engine is going to explode.

Yes, the observer needs to tell you to turn that thing off and turn it off properly and then come here to talk about it. Yeah, oh, look at Matt. From Benedetto it was a great start to the race, damage to the front tires and right rear tires dropped. Plus, I don't think Daniel dying will have suffered enough damage to end his night, and hey, if you can last through the game, you never know what will materialize in this place. You think these trucks have to be aerodynamically flawless to maybe have a chance. We're going to see very few trucks that are pristine at the end of this race.

You have a chance if you can stay in contention. Some adversity tonight for the boys. That Tricon garage we saw. Dean Thompson. Corey Heim took the penalty at the end. The first stage that cost him a track position appears to be the one that suffered the most damage right there, to Haley Deegan's truck. It seems like she might have had the worst of it along with Craig Clay Greenfield and Dean Thompson is a team truck. Are you taking inventory of who is involved? You know, maybe if you've lost a draft partner in this situation, yeah, that's why these guys lean on their scouts so much.

You know the spotters have a playbook at the top and they know who's what where and who's been helpful and who hasn't. uh yeah, you certainly pay attention to every truck that experiences problems. You know, Phil, you and I had the opportunity today to attend the safety meeting and learn a little about what goes on behind the scenes. It's great to see the people from our AMR. safety team right there on the scene taking care of these drivers after they were involved in the accident, we take it for granted a little bit, even as drivers we took it for granted, but it's amazing the work they do to see if we can dissect what passed on Middle Lane back there the blue and white car there's the Greenfield clay truck the blue and yellow look what's happening to Clay because right behind him is Daniel dying Daniel was about to oh Clay just lets go yeah, like that It got tight a little in the middle it got loose and all these other trucks were just victims of circumstance.

Daniel dies almost passed by and you talked to Phil, we talked a moment ago about the test not going to be as tilted as the corner. It's easy to get loose out there and that's exactly what happened to Greenfield. It's like he moved up the track a little bit and maybe made a little contract with a truck on the outside and then it looks like he may have lost control and those other trucks. With nowhere to go, there's Haley Deegan, Dean Thompson's 13-5, and Benedetto's Rackley truck. You think about those drivers and teams who chose not to pit at the end of the first stage and gain that track position.

This is the kind of mess you have. You can avoid this when you establish a position in front. We know that accidents can happen anywhere here, from the first to the second. But when you're up there, you minimize the chances of getting involved in something like this. A couple of trucks back, here's Daniel, looking down. There goes Greenfield, yes, it was going to be fine clay, he went up the track and hit it in the left rear corner, although I don't think his night is over, Phil, oh I don't think so, he has a flat tire, obviously, he we saw. but he'll get in there, although they'll change that and maybe tune up the slight body damage a little and be back in contention.

What's up with that mess? So many good trucks involved, one truck that wasn't involved, that was Tanner. gray, look at the movement Tanner Gray makes when we see this thing again, he's the white truck inside Clay Greenfield, look at this, there's Haley Deegan pulling up in her four-wheeler, look at this truck, there goes Greenfield, look. that Tanner just slides to the bottom keep going you have to have cat reflexes to make that move and he did it perfectly let's ride one more time with Daniel Dye there's Tanner you were talking about that right there probably a little damage to the right front where he made contact but if he hadn't made that evasive move he would have been dead in the middle of this Raja Carruth also right there in the middle of the crash when it started he was also able to escape when Brett Holmes was right behind him and I don't know how much damage He suffered, but it was limited when you consider where he was.

I think you can see now that we are under the red flag. There are 30 laps of 11 left in our second stage, fourth yellow flag. red is for an incident that occurred in the test, we will ride his Stark finish line in the middle of our second stage in Daytona, the red flag came out after we had an accident just after the finish line, Tyler Ankrum leads this race to celebrate. Craftsman's Return to the NASCAR Truck Series Craftsman offers racing fans different deals throughout the season. Keep an eye out for the Craftsman QR code later in the race to take advantage of tonight's Daytona race deal.

Let's get an update from Pit Road and send it to Amanda, when we think about rookie Stripes, Daniel Day is doing everything he can to earn his here this weekend when we started practice early last week, he got a visit from King Richard Petty, but the day did not go well. I didn't even see the track with some issues under the hood of the truck and then in qualifying I was happy with the lap he did but here in the race he's already been fighting the looseness of this truck that they really got into during that first during that first warning to gain more Titan on the truck, but it looks like they're still fighting here today uh in terms of a strategy going forward, they're going to look at this truck, assess the damage and get it.

Back at the Reagan track, well Amanda Parker Klingerman, someone we always hope to see at the front of these truck races when we get to the Super Speedways, is no different tonight, working very well with Stuart Friesen there as we had that restart when they got to the front and were pushing, although Parker had to back off a little, the reason being that the truck started to overheat. Keep an eye on things as this race develops and we get to the end and you really need to be able to stay up there in that truck. in front of you they will have to make an adjustment to be able to run longer one more side note about this team this team almost didn't get here they had a screaming problem in Georgia earlier this week the truck got stuck in Georgia in Fortunately the driver of the truck was able to put out the fire in the center and get the truck back on the road.

Jamie, well how about our race leader, Tyler Ankrum? Now you could call him a veteran. On the field, this is his 91st truck race. He's looking to get his second win. His first win came in 2019, but he considers this season a new beginning for him. He said the only thing that's the same as before is the number 16 on the side of that truck, now crew chief with Doug Randolph. I just talked to him, he said they made the decision to come early because they wanted track position, they qualified 27th, it didn't do them any good to stay there and race 27th and what it did was put him in the lead. of this race right now we have rain coming down again no one knows what's going to happen but they feel pretty good with the truck they have under Tyler yeah it's unpredictable but it's always a lot.

It's easier to play with the lead than to try to come from behind and that makes me laugh forever. We've said you can win from anywhere at Daytona Talladega and then we get here and all we talk about is gaining track position, yeah, here it is. the reason we're under the red flag can't be won from the garage, that's right, that's right, the yellow truck in the middle just pulls up to Clay Greenfield and look at the disaster that follows Brad Holmes' great work now. It's going to make slight contact, I think with Daniel's dye 43, but very slowly, very lightly, it could have been much worse.

You know, there were some great examples of total truck control when you think about the houses the way he could. to make that move and Tanner Gray also Chase Elliott right there passing by in that white van so close to passing him himself left. I think the drivers are in the final stretch and the crew chiefs are saying that it is raining and the drivers. They're saying no it's not, I have to tell you, although I mean it's not raining much so we understand they're going to raise the red flag now so they can bring the trucks in, put them on Pit Road and then we'll re-evaluate and restart. and Wait out the rain here at Daytona, it was very, very brief and I'm not sure it's already raining on the front stretch, in our broadcast position, Regan, what do you have?

Well, Adam, literally, while you were saying they were going to bring him in. At Pit Road, the rain stopped here, it's not raining here anymore, just a very, very fine fog, uh, I have to imagine it's very close to these trucks at least getting back on the track to dry this off, now let's get it done a total liar, Regan, because this illustrates how big Daytona International Speedway is, but just as Regan says it's not raining anymore, we cut to a shot where it's obviously raining, so there you have it. I appreciate your positive attitude. Rick and I really did it.

Smith, I can't believe you didn't get back to me for that and Rhodes, I don't think this is going to be a big delay because the rain was so brief, yeah, and I mean, it never rained much, yeah, Rivers on board, he's on. On the track I think he can still be competitive. I don't think he suffered enough damage. This is another great example, Adam, of how light the rain is. We have that camera on board and nothing fell where Daniel was now, of course, Daniel involved. the accident, so it will go into the clock on the damaged vehicle policy, you will have six minutes to repair that should be easy once we get back to the green flag, you will have to reach the minimum speed, but I would anticipate what you said.

He should be fine to continue and depending on how this race plays out later that could be huge and this time here it won't count against him obviously as the Pace truck takes down the field on Pit Road yeah that clock is just ticking . when you enter Pit Road and then it stops once you exit, butAs you said in this circumstance, that clock will not tick and count against its time to repair the number 43. Which has been strange, right? Yes, we are in two rounds. rain run a handful more laps more rain we finally reach the end of the stage and now a crash a red flag and mother nature making her presence once again halfway through our second stage in Daytona Tyler ankrum is your race leader in the Foreigner tomorrow we take another step towards Sunday's Daytona 500.

As we open up 2023 and the NASCAR with our race coverage of Daytona 500 winner Austin Dillon is here alongside Ryan Blaney, that's a pretty good combination a little bit about Daytona, right? Yes, Ryan's last Cup win was here in August 2021 and Austin Dillon won here last August and won the Daytona 500. in 2018. Check out Tyler Ankrum's great pitching strategy by Doug Randolph, his new crew chief got him the lead and put him in front of that situation. Let's see if we can chat with Tyler's income. Hi Tyler, I'm from Phil Parsons and the guys above. Fox Booth, you got a copy, I got you there Phil, well we were talking about the only thing that's the same as last year, the number and the driver, everything else is different, but a great call from your new baby, Doug Randolph, to get up.

The front gave you the lead and gave you the most important thing, it probably got you ahead of the accident we just saw. I would have been there in that meadow if Doug hadn't made that call. I'm super happy with Doug so far and just want to. This damn rain is going away, it's a little hard to believe that we stopped this race three times or that it rained three different times, but I'm doing a great job buddy, good luck for the rest of the way guys, I like how it's sitting right on the button, said Phil Parsons.

We're here at Fox Booth, you got a copy, yeah Mr. Phil, go ahead, that tells you how in tune these guys are, talk to me and I'll get back to you, it's like when you're waiting for a call from the boss. and you're holding the phone there, it's there, hello, how are you sir, wait a minute, wait a minute, hey, look at Hattori, such a successful program here in the Craftsman Truck Series winning the championship with Brett Moffett, everything What Austin Hill was able to accomplish, they missed the playoffs last year, which was shocking, but you get the feeling that with the changes they've made and the growth that Tyler Ankrum has experienced, this is a year in which the one you could really put some things together, remember I went to two trucks last year, maybe I diluted the effort a little, I went back to one truck this year looking for good things every time the boss calls me, Adam, I say hello like I do now, a little less sure it's to tell me how.

Great, I'm doing what happens. Jamie just spoke with Joe Shear Jr, Ty Majeske's crew chief. He remembers that in that first stage, Ty was able to lead two of the laps, but he was there in the middle of it all, helping his teammate Matt Crafton. who also led two laps asked him why they made that late pit dive to get some fuel at the end of the first stage and Joe Shear Jr said it was a mistake. Should have known better in hindsight in 2020, although the good news is that he was able to tighten the truck a little as soon as the rain clears, they will be able to go out for a run, they feel like they have a pretty good truck under them.

Amanda Haley Deegan has been checked out and released from the Administrative Health Care Facility here in the infield and Haley just told me off camera that there wasn't much you thought you could do differently there and knowing your intentions for this season, How do you digest what happened here? I mean, they're super speed races, you kind of go in expecting just if you come out great, if you can't, that's what's expected, very few of them make it to all these super speed races, so we go into this one trying to do the best we can to stay ahead.

I had a really good first stage and I feel like we got good stage points. We had a good finish right there. I'm just trying to go from the beginning and see if that plays a different role, I would say. This is because I have fallen behind in the past and it has worked some times, it hasn't worked other times, so not a day more we tried a lot of different tactics here this year with my new team and it was working for the first stage. but it happens, yeah, I'll tell you what Adam, every once in a while, you're in an accident that was inevitable and that certainly wasn't anything she could have done differently, she just let herself get carried away by something that was inevitable.

The good thing about stage racing if you can get some stage points early, it helps minimize a difficult night. She got some at the end of stage one and that will ease the pain of what will be a very frustrating night ending with a no finish in the season opener inside. There were 10 laps left in the second stage when we returned to the green flag, this is what put us under yellow for the fourth time tonight. Wanted to change almost ready to go green again, it's the opening race of 2023 for the Craftsman Truck Series at Daytona and as we anticipated the green, let's talk to Regan Smith Adam, it's been a great start so far for Christian Neck as he won the stage one, currently with 12 crew chief, Charles, tonight, this is a new relationship, it seems like everything is going very well so far for you.

Guys yeah it's going really well, we qualified well, we've got speed, we won the first stage which is great to get a win on the first stage of the year here, get some points in the bank so we can keep racing, hopefully we'll get some. more points here at the end of this stage so we can be freed to have some fun here until the end and go for the victory we want to see you have fun good luck thanks second year with you well, the five and the 13 were eliminated by the 84 today here I have to Clay Greenfield, has been cleared and released from the Care Center here in Daytona and when you remember what was happening inside the truck, can you explain to us from your vantage point what you saw?

Yeah there's just a lot going on there. We had my truck, it was very difficult to keep it straight. We've been throwing a lot of things at it and we hadn't completely fixed it. I was fine holding out outside without someone at my door, but then when we got to the middle of three, there was just no air outside and I saw it as a situation I didn't want to be in, but coming out of four, I was trying to find a option, but there it was. There were two blocked so I had to move on and it's hard to hold on to that as we've been fighting for it all weekend and we hate Blues pools in the backyard.

This is one of the races we would like. I have won this race twice before. This is one we've circled around every year. I really want to come here, but we'll fix it and come back soon. It's never the easiest interview. Thank you all. Yes, Clay Greenfield, 38 years old. from Clarksville Tennessee and like he said he's always a player when he comes here at the races you know and that's so mature it's so hard to say you know we couldn't drive my truck it just didn't handle well and I got into in a bind. I didn't need to be and I blamed myself for the accident and I was trying to get out of that place, but as he was a lot and there were trucks inside, trucks outside, in front of them, sad because, as he said, I've been a player and Adam you called it just a shame, it makes you sad for those guys when they work so hard to get in that position and it all disappears, take me behind the wheel and the mentality of the drivers in this situation because You haven't had a ton of green flag races, you want start, we're going to have a quick little shootout here, you know, around six, seven, maybe five laps to go to the end of the stage when we get back to green, I guess eventually.

This level of aggression is going to get to a dangerous place because these guys have to want to leave. I've seen it since it was announced, yes. I don't think it's going to get worse because it's been there from the beginning. start and I think a lot of that has to do with inexperience and also the delays when you're driving under caution and you want to go and when it's time to go, you know the turns are getting away from you, so, uh. He puts a lot of aggression behind the wheel and mistakes can be made here we go, we're choosing him Adam, yes, I said it before.

I haven't been doing this at Super Speedways, but we'll do it this year. being the guy who was restarting the race P1 had the opportunity to decide inside out now everyone can do it at Daytona, that's cool yeah because it allows strategy to come into play and you know if it's late in the race you want. Your teammate behind you, you can put him behind you and sometimes before, when you had your teammate behind you, the question came up: you were definitely going to split up because one would be outside and one would be inside, obviously.

The guy in front would have a choice in or out, but you would be separated from your teammate. Zane Smith is back at Pit Road, our defending race winner, 2022 Champion, they have been working on that truck he loves every chance they get. What's up with that truck nine? Jamie, well that truck nine is driven by Colby Howard, he's with CR7 Motorsports for the entire season this year, but he calls it a bit of a homecoming, he did three races with them in 2021 and then went to mcanally, but they both Teams share a race tent, so he said it doesn't feel like the first day of school.

He's never worked with his new crew chief, Doug George, before, but they've certainly crossed paths in the past, so he's excited about this opportunity he's just discovered. Tim Fetterwald just told him. him, you make your decision here, I'm going to be with you, we only have a handful of laps left, this is all in your hands, friend Amanda, when we think about the rookies here this weekend, when we talk to Matt Crafton and the classification . He said: I don't know the names of these guys, we're learning everything about everything on Nick Sanchez's radio. I heard his team tell him that 88 has asked if Nick Sánchez is ready to stop pushing him from behind to accelerate.

Here at Daytona quickly and Nick has the opportunity to Sanchez, no, no, we are making good progress, but Matt just doesn't want a rookie, someone who doesn't have a lot of experience, to have his front bumper on the tailgate, well, I said , could? he becomes more aggressive and obviously Matt thought he was too aggressive because he was very nice, yeah, don't push me like that, the restart comes at five to the end of stage two. Anchorman, the inside lane, we go once again under the green in Daytona outside for Stuart Friesen's 52 on Colby Howard Parker kligerman right there also pushing the Kosovars into the mix on those trying to find their way to the top, yeah, The Chase four you remember were left behind due to a puncture during qualifying, there it is now. second place got a boost from Matt Crafton, yes I thought it was a big blow for that team when they had the tire and qualifying issue and had to fall back, but he's been patient and worked his way to the front and just in the game, oh shit, sideways, that tells you the veteran can barely hold on to that truck, these things are a handful, three wide, Ben Rhodes in the middle with a 99 truck, the white and blue truck, there There, look at all the ground he's gaining now.

He will either move closer to Travis Pastrana or go to the outside. Michael sees the trucks bottoming out ahead. There are so many things these drivers have to get used to. Look at Ben Rhodes right in the middle, inside Travis Pastrana, creating help. our stage one winner Christian Eckes in 19. Meanwhile up front, Colby Howard jumping in nine, you have to be very careful in turn four with that front bumper. See Colby Howard moving back and forth between the inside line and the outside line as we ride along with Ben Rhodes just behind the osibar 42, changing lanes usually works once or twice but you eventually lose the lead by making those moves With less than three laps to go to the second stage Howard in front, I think that's too far ahead, isn't it?

That's what I was going to ask there goes the outward movement anchor look at this big push from the four back from the nine that's the key for these observers is the observer of four has to tell him you can push the nine, but if the nines against the 16s, oh, watch out, geez, April, what a save, how long can you save them? Although Adam, it's those fat on the outside, going three wide to take the lead, big push from Parker Clinton ankrum all around. the track with a push from the four of Purdy two laps to go in the stage freezing the leads in Daytona my question is if they can come back twice well, I don't know, look at Clickerman out of shape with a push from the nine of Colby Howard and look at that third line in themedium Here comes Ben Rhodes won this race two years ago Ben Rhodes has a fast pass in a truck with good handling, it seems that this was pretty good when he was pushed, it seems that he is a pretty good pusher will also be one of the ones that will go up to the scenario this time once again Tyler Rankrum returns to the top spot recruiting help from Chase Purdy, boy look how tight they are on that outside line.

I can't stand Phil. It's crazy and Stewart freezes the contact against the wall and there are more trucks involved caution it's fifth of the night that will finish the stage that's Brett Holmes the 32nd on the inside grass Colby Howard's nine around Howard did a great job without him that truck completely hits him and crashes into the outside wall, hang, second crash of the night, this in stage two, Tyler Ankrum will get the green and white checkered flag. Chase Purdy returns second, thank you. A lot of damage to Stuart Friesen's 52 trucker. I saw it coming when they were pushing towards the back and the guy looked like they got it by being square behind each other, it looked like Stuart might have moved up and gotten another one.

Look at it Cody Robal in '97 going behind the wall, that's a Parker Kligerman 75 in pit lane, took some damage, yeah, quite a bit of damage on that run to the left, you can see it right there. Colby Howard was in that truck nine, but no. Damage, it didn't look like it, Pit Road is nearby. All of these drivers feel like they had to come to Pit Road now to make repairs. See if you see that bright yellow and blue truck moving a little too far into the outside lane. I had a race is that what happened here we tried to block the road, yes, we moved forward and Ben Rosa's 99 was being pushed by Christian Equus's Chris 19, so he couldn't really, couldn't brake to avoid the 52 of Stuart Friesen yes, I think it was a case of a block, look at the movement right there, yes, and again on the 19th, the second blue and white truck behind Ben Rhodes is pushing him, look how lucky truck 19 was to have a hole to go through. and veteran Matt Crafton up there fighting with these kids making this happen Crafton third at that stage looks at the nine, looks like he's going towards the outside wall now let's go to the infield looks safer down there slipping and sliding but he makes it through who It's Grant. and figure narrowly avoiding him in the black and yellow truck 23 how about Ben Rhodes perspective that's how it all started height push it push got the 23 Outback hop-off hip thrust come on baby let's push it did you hear his The spotter told him everything the time they were pushing him from the back the roads were damaged but overall I think it worked out well for him I mean it could have been a lot worse yeah it looks like there's a lot of damage to the front of that truck. like here Adam, look at the hood, yeah, all buttoned up.

You see there's The Grand in figure making out with that truck 23. Jack Wood, 51 making out and three or four of those trucks right behind Jack Wood are all involved in this. Get back up because my back wheels aren't touching the ground, that's an accurate assessment of exactly what happened, yes, he made a move that was fine to make Stewart try to close the door but it was a little late, yes, and there was no nothing Ben could do because again he said his back wheels weren't touching the ground because Eckus was pushing him. Say before, every point matters, you'll come back to finish the stage and they're chasing it, oh yeah, I think pushing too hard, pushing too hard, blocking, there's that 99 truck on the hood we talked about, all folded up.

It's coming to Pit Road, they're going to try to tighten that thing up to see if they can fix it enough so it can keep going and be competitive. Pit Road had been closed, it's open now, stop finishing stage two. Tyler Ankrum will take it down. heading your way Jamie and Tyler Ingram will be the first to hit pit lane as this race leader, their crew chief Doug Randolph, made the decision, make him stop a little early, we're going to take four tires , fuel, give him some ice pack, lift that body up a little bit and they'll send him outside.

Amanda Nick Sánchez came here. It's going to be fuel for him with full tires. His team has been talking to him all this time. Yesterday they were in practice focusing on pit lane speed, the Knicks Sanchez, the team was telling him guys, this is a stupid fast truck. Regan Chase Purdy very happy with this truck, very happy to get stage points also from good clean stops, everything they didn't want for anything. Otherwise, the second stage was completed at Daytona and came to an end with a crash on the backstretch Ben Rhodes Stewart Friesen and others involved Tyler anchor the winner of the second stage in two foreign stages in the season-opening race of books for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series here at Daytona with Michael Waltrip Phil Parsons I'm Adam Alexander, thanks for being with us, we've had a lot of strange circumstances, some rain, an accident that bought a red flag and then some more rain that extended the red flag, but we have two complete stages, so this race is official.

Christian Equus takes a stage victory, the third of his career. Tyler Ankrum has now won a stage for the second time in his Truck Series career and this most recent crash took out Stuart Friesen. a report from Amanda Road were looking under for a suspension and steering check, everything was clear but there were some issues with the handling and at the splitter, Stewart came back out for a lap around the track and said the management was Shit, so he went back to the team, I just looked at him again. Stewarts returned to the track here at Daytona.

His goal Adam will be to enter that draft and take some time to get enough speed to be able to continue running and without that Fender he will have to be in a tight draft, he will need one behind him and one in front of him, yes, same for the 75 by Parker Kligerman. I mean there are a lot of trucks that get fixed up, we'll see how effective they are and if they can get up to the minimum speed here, I'm impressed by Matt Crafton, all these crazy kids and the pushing and the stuff we've seen, he's up there just fighting them tooth and nail picking up the most points on stage so so far tonight maybe not comfortably but it's up there with him hey let's call it although rookie Nick Sanchez starts from the pole and he's been effective tonight and he's chasing Purdy nine stage points after coming from behind and I hate to see this, but uh.

The rain is back, well, Joy is showing herself as our leader right now again. We've looked at the radar a couple of times and it's certainly not jammed, it's just sporadic rain we're getting, oh lights out security truck so they will. Could you turn them back on, let's get a report on Matt Kraft and Jamie. Well, Matt Crafton just reported to a scene that this is definitely the wettest his windshield has been all night, so rain will certainly fall on some parts of the track here. The pit lane doesn't drop as hard, but I want to go to the last pit stop.

They took a couple more minutes to clean the front of that number 88 truck. There was some grass. He was also asked if he was towing the truck or not. brake, they said the right front rotor was on fire a little bit, it was the four tires and the fuel for them, so they are looking to do some big things here, at this final stage of the race, the lights are back on on the vehicle safety, so this time I'm not going to come out green. I will say that I like this play of those four drivers up front choosing not to pit and you know, gain some track position and see what happens.

Hey, maybe you'll win a race. Of this, yeah, yeah, even if that doesn't happen, there's only eight laps, so they pitted eight laps before these other guys had to make another pit stop and they've certainly gone far enough to be able to do that. at one more stop. Yes, they are in their window like everyone else to do it in one more stop, which is what needs to be done for the final stage. Reagan, well, Adam Chris Lawson had planned this a while ago. Remember that they stopped two stops ago and took all four. Tires He was happy with that truck when they took all four tires off and he's been happy all night, but the plan was to use that as a strategy play during the next stage so they could stay out and get that track position that they hadn't. accomplished.

Tonight he hadn't been a factor until now, but strategy buried him in the field and now he emerged to the front. I keep saying it's a lot easier to make those kinds of decisions when you have a championship in your pocket. right, I mean, and it's kind of like winter race theory: you're in the playoffs, now you can gamble with your strategy for the rest of the season and try to steal one that they know they're ahead of the game in the that they trust. in their program they know they have fast trucks, a great driver, they will be in contention when the playoffs come around, so you can roll the dice a little, play some games, they have done that and now they are in position to go.

We go out and jump and Corey Lejoy says he's pouring rain here, of course, I don't see any way we can. I think he's locked out for the rest of the night. The yellow flag is out. He's raining in Daytona. We are preparing for the final stage abroad we have reached the final age there are 54 laps left in the season opening race for the Craftsman Truck Series in Daytona a prelude there is Sunday's Daytona 500 that you can watch live on Fox How about that truck in the fourth place outside? second row we saw him with damage you see the repairs that Matt De Benedetto made again in the contest Corey The Joy lost the argument that it was raining too hard let's go green lajoy inside in control in the seven outside of him our reigning champion the guy who won Daytona last year, Zane Smith, final stage at the world center of truck racing, some pretty aggressive pushers on row number two, with Corey Hyman in 11 and Benedetto in 25.

Outside of Lane, there's some chemistry, No? lined up nose to tail, big push, Zane Smith to lead, bring Matt with Benedetto with him, that was a byproduct of that push. Corey Heim has Corey Lajoy's rear end in that black truck inside. It's not the Dale and Dale show. the Corey and Corey show down there, look at that bush, our two stage winners working together Tyler ankrum getting the push from Christian eckes 16 and 19. So Corey enjoys that black, white and orange truck jumping behind the 19 abekus, jumped out. very, very aggressive here on these Speedways Corey Heim, now look at that fourth truck on the outside, it's Chase Elliott, he's joined this battle for the lead, why am I not surprised we're getting there and he's found his way into the mix? right behind him, GMS rookie Raja Carruth in 24.

I love the race Raja has run, we haven't seen much of him and he's certainly been away from the action and out of trouble, really him and Corey Heim. They've both done a good job, you know, staying out of trouble and putting themselves in position, you gotta be impressed with Corey Heim here. Every time he starts his engine, he becomes a factor in the race and is up to second place. a two-time winner in the series, one that came in the draft last year in Atlanta and won two ARCA races here in Daytona, exactly a great move to the outside for Zane Smith as he approaches that orange 16 and black.

I know he'll have a good pusher behind him, the 19 abekus, here comes the push, Travis Pastrana stepping back, there's Daniel Dye involved in an accident earlier, he's back there, Matt De Benedetto involved in an accident before and he's in front three out, let's go with Amanda. Well, Corey Hines said he had some uncertainties going into this season with a new team, but he said he was very happy with the speed he's found in this truck so far and he also said he's racing with mixed emotions because of the incident they had here. on Pit Road. last year but one here at ARCA said I needed to go out and be perfect today started about 13th on the track to the top now here look at that tape moving on the Rockley Roofing truck that says Daytona right ?

It is not like that and it has to be in the middle. You need to have trucks in front and behind. It is damaged, repaired. Back on the track. Not so lucky for Parker Kligerman's 75. His night was over. Time ran out while they tried. to fix it and look at this outside, Lane, big push. Here comes Zane Smith with that bright yellow 38. everything in front of that, behind that, excuse me, in front of that truck driver 19 Christian, he goes to town, that 19 is a dealer now. see Carson hosabar that truck outside trying to make that third lane work there's no help up there what's up with Corey?

La Joy has been able to maintain theleadership and moves to the top against Zane. It's been almost 10 years since Corey was in a truck the way it looks, it should probably be about 10 more before he does it again because this is crazy, I'm not sure he is, I know we haven't seen the whole thing the action, but it's been a crazy race, how long does it measure? and experience means in the draft three of our top six not only running tonight Sunday in the Daytona 500. Zane Smith will be there Corey Lajoy and Chase Elliott are there at the front of the field with 48 to go it's because of their talent as well, Adam, you know you put them in trucks and they graduate to the Cup and compete for wins and championships.

You'll be fine there when you get back to the trucks, that's the 80 Talentos 20 track time this weekend. How do you balance that? Michael, you were absolutely right, racing fans, we'll take all the action here at Daytona commercial-free with Crank It Up sponsored by Craftsman halfway through, he'll keep the Gap, so the Sevens are up there now only at half of you she has the 15 Outback right now she only has the 15 Outback so she likes 41-3 back in the 15. nothing with you at 10. thanks, Lane top pushes the nose tail hard, 16 -11 are clear behind you, one after the other. missing behind you at the bottom now good job thanks Top Lane has six backlights for the 35-20 grab your phone now and get ready to scan the QR code for the Craftsman deal of the race Craftsman is back and to celebrate our return In the NASCAR Truck Series, we offer racing fans different Craftsman deals throughout the season because teams can count on Craftsman tools to get the job done and now you can too, when you take advantage of the Craftsman offer on the run, you'll save on the tools that We'll help you jump-start your projects and this deal is going fast, so scan the QR code now to get the current deal on the run.

The career offer presented by Craftsman. A special thanks to Craftsman for everything they are doing. truck series and give us a chance to get it going. The sights and sounds of Daytona can't be beat. I was so excited to have Craftsman return to the truck series. I went out and bought a Craftsman tool box, so I'm in. This is a big move for Craftsman in the truck series, bringing some history as we watch these guys chase this Victory with Craftsman through that front windshield and I'm so excited that we were able to get through the Crank It Up and stay green while we did it.

What's up with that push Chase Elliott gave Zayn Smith? He's running 20 miles per hour faster than that inside Lane. Zane Smith could gain some trust from Chase tonight, which could help him. He always impresses us here since he made his first start last year. He really seems to get it Caruth is a rookie on that 24 in Washington D.C. He's a college student who goes to Winston-Salem State during the week, he's in class, he's going to school tonight too and he's going to try to put himself in position to win and things are getting dangerous Here comes Carruth through the middle and look who he pushes it oh no oh there there is there and there goes Carruth on the finger is there Daniel dies uh I didn't like going through the middle you know it's so risky sometimes you don't have to though you have to choose, you have to establish your career, you have to go to somewhere that certainly was, uh, decisionsky might have really been the only other truck that got a piece of that, so this wasn't huge, I don't think we'll have to watch the

replay

and see who got a piece of the action, much more damage to 25 at Benedetto, that truck is done, yeah, six yellow flags of the night, you know what's crazy is this race really struggled to find a rhythm.

Because of the rain, the warnings, the crashes and all that, even though we've already had more Elite changes in this race tonight than in the entire event last year, that's crazy, right? It seems we haven't run. enough green flag laps to change that mini lead. I know I think there was something skewed on the back of that truck it looked like it was a crab walking down the street following this decision to shoot down the middle right here, yeah I was wondering if it got pushed from behind by Ben Rhodes' 99, not only did he close the door there Zayn came down a little and Raja was engaged and that started the melee grab two of the GMS trucks Daniel's 43 Diane Diane's 24 Raja almost got Grant's 23 and check out Grant there in the yellow truck and black inside right behind benedetto and rajat, are you all going to avoid it together?

I thought maybe he got some. I don't think he received anything either. That was incredible. Get in with Daniel Dye again in truck 43. Look what he did. see him outside, look at the 98 of the majeske time here and what's up with Matt Crafton and Chase Elliott sliding high and making him pass? Yes, Pastrano too, Majeski is doing an amazing job, we may have a little on the front, but it's not bad. Look at Pastrana on 41. There are so many great moves, look at Tanner Gray above, squeezing almost out of control, there goes Majeski getting through, okay, we see some strategy here, oh, I think we're coming, I think everyone's coming now and maybe maybe a little outside your window. but if we get enough caution laps and don't go into overtime, these guys will be able to make it from here, but you have to make that decision, I mean, I have to go in now, that's how you're going to win the race.

I can't count on there being extra time. Those guys did their night work. Didn't they repair that truck? They made it competitive and now they have to fix it again. Caruth goes behind the wall. Jamie does, and I can see him parking behind the fence. At this time he was playing in pit lane and reporting to this team, but he said: Sorry guys. I saw Zane Smith in that number 38. He looked like he was going to fall on me. He panicked a little. He said it's true and he tried it. to keep his nose there, he felt like he needed it, but he took full responsibility for it, yeah, that started there on the backstretch when he made the decision to shoot up the middle, he got it done in a minute, same thing before. with Clay Greenfield he got into the middle of the test oval and made laps that started his problems here they come down Pit Road Jamie and for Ben Rhodes in that number 99 they are going to lose some track position here, they know it.

They fix that damage the right way, so they won't have to come back here towards the end of the race. They will also consume some fuel. Amanda Corey Heim is on Pit Road right now, taking the right side tigers. He's going to take two cans of fuel here, he plans to run it towards the end, he said he wanted to go out and be perfect, so this is his chance to do it as we finish here at Daytona, guys, well the first question they asked was strategy. Michael and we're starting to see it develop a little bit here.

Yeah, Corey Joey decided to stay on the track he last entered on lap 34. So he'll probably only be able to do another, you know, 15 or 20 laps, kind of like those six yellow flags of the night, a handful of trucks involved, including a couple of newbies, thanks right now. There are 39 laps left in the Craftsman Truck Series finale at Daytona. Corey Lajoy is leading. Let's find out why they stayed out and didn't pit with Regan Adam. It was just a little. There was a lack of communication, I remember many combinations of crew chiefs of new drivers working together tonight.

The pit call was missed and they never came down. I will tell you that although there is a twist, sometimes it is better to be lucky than a good rain on the way, should we get there. a rain, they could be in position to win and I guess we're going to fill up with fuel before we get back to the green flag, get into that window, even if even when we go the full distance we feel like we can. probably go all the way, this is going to be really really interesting to talk about aggression now that we've seen aggression, but knowing that it could rain and maybe most of the field will be in the pits for the last time, hey, let's talk about something. of the other players up there, I mean, we're going to have this reset, you've got to anchor them, you've got Zane Smith, Timmy Hill, some of that mix in there, this is going to be a fun little reset, oh, Chase Elliott is still lurking and , in fact I.

I think Timmy Hill is showing up there on the score monitor. He actually went down Pit Road, so he crossed that off the list. The time and score had not yet been updated. Front row will be Corey LaJoie Tyler ankrum row two Zane Smith and Matt Crafton Matt Crafton. Been there all night, I mean, but so good over the years, I mean, you've got 15 career wins, three championships, but you've never been able to close the deal at Daytona, you've got two fifth place finishes or your best finishes. here they're adding a lap because of some debris on the race track, every lap they add makes Cory the jelly Joy happier and I'm saying that because man the radar is predicting it looks like it's going to rain real soon yeah , imminent, it's been a crazy night, you know who it could be. able to put it all in perspective Travis Pastrana let's hear what else is here he jumped out of a plane without a parachute did you hear I have friends?

I don't have any good enough, but I trust. I jump out of a plane without a parachute and I trust them to get me through it Adam, we miss you, we would miss you, although yes, that is a show on wheels, Travis Pastrana. I like the decision to pit with one to go, Nick Sanchez, there are two Stewarts. five laps off the pace just trying to save his way home Phil, yeah, what's going on with Matt Crafton? Jamie, well, one of the things they're talking about on the radio right now is fuel right now, Matt Crafton, when we're under caution. and fuel saver mode but they told him once we go green don't save anything, they're watching the radar like us, they know it's raining, they're looking to maintain runway position, make the most of this if Matt is worried for that Tyler Ingram number 16 who is right in front of him on the court.

He said you have to tell him to come back to me or I can't help him at all. He's getting too far ahead in a lot of games. I played, yeah, I think for all these teams that are watching the radar thinking the rain is coming, they're going to run every lap like it's their last, so I don't think we've ever seen aggressors like the ones we're preparing to see. How cool is it that Matt Crafton is starting his 20th season with Menards on the side of that truck. John Menard, a big supporter of NASCAR and now all of motorsports, certainly was the last time there was a truck race without Matt Crafton in October 2000 at Texas Motor Speedway, this is his 522nd consecutive start. .

Menards came on board just a couple of years after that and has never gone anywhere else supporting that team and Matt Crafton. Chris Showalter, who is Nick Sanchez's truck boss, told me today that this is the 667th race in the history of the truck series because he's been in all of them, that's extraordinary, right? And one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. What's up with that? There are six vans outside, everyone else is single file behind. they reset 36 to go lajoy in anchor out thanks Matt Crafton with a good push on that truck ankrum a good push out there Chase Elliott in the white number 35. watch Joy's seven try to handle both lines here, it's a little more easy.

Think of a car rather than a truck because of the big hole they make in the air. Hey, let's give that black and white 15 Tanner Gray some love, it's very Adam oh, three wide around the outside goes a 16 38 Zane truck. Smith new leader 36 to go to Daytona and watch Corey Joy fall now being in the middle with no help in the draft, that's what happens when you try to drive that line, go from one side to the other, sometimes you just can't react enough fast enough because of what Phil said, the draft is just as important on these trucks, Zane Smith is in control with Daytona like he was a year ago, it's Tanner gray right behind Dan Smith, we were talking about Tanner a second ago, he's been in three accidents, oh it looks like it's getting ready to be in another one, meanwhile Corey Lajoy goes from first to 13th after sliding into the middle and doesn't have much gas either.

It's been going from bad to worse for the Concord, NC driver, it just scares me that those guys are going to slide. In the middle of the lane coming out of the corner, we have comfortable seats up here and I can't use them, this is too intense for me, to tell you that truck nine can really grab onto a loose truck and curse, even if we go down. to Amanda, excuse me guys, we are here at the Box Care Center both guys have been released here Raja Carruth and Daniel Dye and Raja I want to start with you, this is only your fifth outing in vans, what can you take away from today's incident ?

Yeah, I mean, I really learned a lot tonight, it was a pretty unfortunate deal. 99 was putting very good pressure on me and I was trying not to get three in themedium and I didn't want to go up to 35 so I just filled it up and 38 started going down and I lifted it up so I wouldn't catch it and I didn't really know what happened at that point so it shot up but our Windows Scott Silverado was really good tonight. I can't say enough about uh. to the men and women of GMS Racing and General Motors Chevy for their support and you know, especially the Butlerville seats, Alpine Stars and Bell Helmets, so hopefully everything worked out tonight.

Daniel came over and gave Raja a big hug before our interview and you told him. Your team is a top 30 guy, but when you review this Daytona experience for yourself, what do we think? Yeah, it's a little crazy for us, you know, not being able to practice. I had a little problem with qualifying, but overall with the race, I mean, I was. happy with what we had working, you know, I was just trying to learn, you know, first, you know, the stage was kind of our practice plan, I mean, I was trying to practice there, but those guys you know have trouble coming , you already know. there was five to go of the first stage and it stopped us but a good little fight to recover we were in the mix for a second we just got caught up in the big one thanks Amanda caution is out we knew the rain was in the how he arrived and with that the yellow flag waving once again and Zane Smith in a familiar place both in Daytona and what he experienced a year ago, being out front in one of these races that we heard from Raja Carruth Daniel died, this is what that put them out of the race, yellow flag for rain once again at Daytona, welcome back to NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series coverage from Daytona, where some pop-up rain showers have plagued the night, you see the rain falling in Daytona for several years.

At times it seems like the team members are frustrated, they obviously want to get this very soon, just like we Caitlyn Betsy, along with Trevor Bain Taco, had dinner, so we had two stay pages completed by our stage winners. Were you surprised who we saw picking up stage wins, guys? a little bit, I mean anchor what it's been three years since he got a stage win, this is just the second win for the second time, but uh, christianette, because he's had a lot of speed qualifying practice throughout the race, I mean, I've seen that Napa truck. a lot and was pushing truck 99 down the middle.

I mean, he's been able to pretty much do whatever he wants with that thing so far, doesn't take anything away from Tyler Ankrum, but the reason he was there was because he was a really smart person. The choice was made by Doug Randolph as crew chief and I totally agreed with those guys when they pitted on the first stage to skip the pits on the second stage, put them all in front and that's why you got that win from stage, so it's already been very hectic from We Started to where we are at this point, there have been a number of drivers that we are considering as having advanced the most over the course of the race.

When you look at this group of drivers that stand out from this list, it's been a lot of fun. watching Corey LaJoie in action, right, Don, yes, yes, Corey is a great plate racer, he just made a mistake, he didn't pit like they should have and now he's back in the group. I'm sure they'll pit here under this yellow, but he did a great job, what do you think Trevor? This list here, I mean, we talked a little bit about Ankrum and he fit in and he'll be fine, but Colby Howard in that nine truck, he's in fourth place right now, he was running third before the caution was issued and those nine trucks were one that I really didn't expect, like Tyler Anker, to be out front all night and we've seen him get loose a few times, he held on to it, but that truck has been really strong and Tanner Gray has done a great job all night patiently holding on. made his way there got all those positions he's been running at the front did a great job multiple incidents throughout the night, the most recent involved one of the drivers we were really anticipating seeing his performance tonight, it was Raja Garus, what did you see happen here?

Trevor, well, when we were watching him push toward the middle, I saw the truck kind of move a little bit and I thought I saw what he said in his interview that it looked like he overcorrected a little bit, which in that situation everything It's amplified, your adrenaline is high, he's in the middle where he really didn't want to be and as soon as he saw Zayn Smith's 38 he goes down a little bit, you know, I saw that little bit of panic and it makes the truck go out of control, yeah, to me that's one of those things where I say experience pays dividends, he's never been in that. he kind of position in any kind of race he's ever been in and he made a little mistake that cost him.

This has been very exciting so far. This is like Stop and Go for drivers, it's difficult to stop and go and usually creates a lot of chaos when you get in and out of the truck this way. Alright, we hope the pop-up showers continue on their way. so we can complete this first game of the season, of course, in Daytona, let's go back to the guys' booth in Daytona and say hello to Adam, thank you very much Caitlin and now grab your phone and get ready to scan the QR code for the Craftsman Sale from the race, thank you Craftsman is back and to celebrate our return to the NASCAR Truck Series, we are offering racing fans different Craftsman deals throughout the season because teams can count on Craftsman tools to get the job done and now you can too when you take advantage of the Craftsman deal on the run, you'll save on the tools to help you jump-start your projects and this deal is going fast, so scan the QR code now to get the current deal on the run. presented by Craftsman under yellow flag for the 7th time tonight there are 29 laps left and the yellow flag is out for rain, but once again it's not heavy rain, we don't even have a red flag in this race and the trucks continue to move forward. around, we wait, and the radar is broken, so just hope these scattered showers go away and we can finish this tonight.

Yeah, it doesn't look any different from our window than it did all night, just a very light fog here. Hopefully Daytona will go away, what are they thinking in that pit 38? Regan, well Adam, crew chief Chris Lawson making another big strategic decision to get his driver Zane Smith back to the front position that you guys are familiar with at the end of races. at Daytona, what is your driver saying right now? Is he raining too hard? Do you want to cancel it right now? Oh, I mean, I think he wants to win this on his green as much as anyone, but no, he just said it's pretty slippery out there. right now he just said that, so, yeah, I'm fine with that either way, I won under green under yellow flag.

Whatever it was a great night for this group of guys as well and for you, you have your great couple of nights, you guys are actually crewing the car that you're going to compete in in the Daytona 500, you guys raced last night at what level? There's this whole team right now, yeah, cool guy, really cool to be able to share that with him in his first start at the Daytona 500. and for us to do it as the same group that won a championship last year as a truck team, so yeah, it's really cool and we're looking forward to Sunday.

Things are going really well for Chris Lawson and Zane Smith right now, Adam, yeah, really. I played the game perfectly tonight and you know just to add another nugget to his resume, he came into the night with 999 LED laps in his career, so now he's over a thousand and that's how he got first place. This could end up being the pass for the win right here, yes they both squeeze around Corey lajoy, Zane takes the lead Tyler Ingram leading that off Lane, but what a great move it was for Zane. I had a little help from behind from Tanner Gray and Tanner is finishing in that second place right now.

Brilliant. Run for it tonight, the rain all night has been the kind you wouldn't, you'd barely turn the wipers on, in fact it's that kind of rain where you keep turning them on and off correctly but it never materialises. completely but you have tires with tread and you're running 60 miles an hour on the highway, that's a good point and for now I guarantee you Zayn Smith says he's pouring rain. I said it as someone who has never driven a race car, good night, Michael has to do it. It'll be pretty easy, right, yeah, it doesn't seem that bad to me, yeah, it's been a good night for Jane Smith, but I think you know you've got to call some of these other pilots up there.

Christian Eckus wins the stage and runs third. I mean, we haven't said much tonight about Grant Infinger, but here he is in the fifth position, someone who we feel could be a great player in the championship chase, other than he's missed every accident we've had. in the middle of this and Tanner Gray has been in all the accidents, they seem to have had them, he is running in seconds, so there are some great stories out there, what a crazy night, what do you see? Jamie, well, Grant and the finger, as you mentioned, he was quite unhappy afterwards in qualifying he was disappointed at the speed they had, he thought they had a faster truck than that, but that's how this race went, a bit like you said, they've He may have been able to avoid problems, but the most important thing for him and his crew chief, Jeff Hensley, is that they are approaching this season more aggressively than they have had before.

He said we have a lot of experience in this team right now and there are so many rookies in the field we need to strike while the iron is hot make the most of these early stages of the season, they brought this new truck here for this year's super Speedways. He said that they learned a lot of information about it and that some good things are coming for them, but it is This will come right after they are more aggressive in their decision making and I have to hand it to you, Phil, you talked about how close it has been to so many accidents tonight , but that truck looks very, very good right now, good tomorrow.

Fox is a UConn basketball doubleheader first at 11 30 East, the 20th ranked men take the court against Seton Hall, then at 2 30 the six ranked women take center stage as they battle the leading scorer in the country and that would be Maddie Siegrist at Villanova, ranked 14. It all starts tomorrow on Fox I don't know who you're betting on but I'm going to tell you right now my advice is on the Huskies the solid men's and women's programs in the stores right now how good that women's team has been For years and years, it's remarkable, remarkable, what Geno has done and the continued success, as you said, for decades at UConn, continues to circle here in Daytona while the rain or, I guess, an intense fog, I would call it, continues to fall.

I think we're probably going to see the trucks pull up to Pit Road. I'm, I'm looking at that truck, it's fading or, excuse me, the track looks like Phil's fading a little bit, yeah, first time tonight, first time I've noticed it, you'd say. We're losing track, as we noted above, this race is official once you get to the middle or end of stage two, whichever comes first, if you had something like what we're experiencing now, NASCAR could call the race. and it would be considered official and we have already passed the end of our second stage and obviously this could come to an end if the rain continues.

Now we know that this year they will run. We've raced the street courses in the rain for several years now, but many of the NASCAR short tracks are now three major series that will have a rain package as a street course when we go to places like Phoenix and short tracks like Richmond and Martinsville . That's going to be crazy, we could see some racing on oval tracks in the rain. I can't wait, I want to get a good look at it and that rule will be in effect on every track a mile long and under with the exception of the two concrete tracks where the speeds are so high they would be Dover at Bristol and there's obviously more banking there, so which we won't do it there, but all the other tracks are a mile long and less we're going to have a rain package where we could potentially race in the rain and we're talking about Phoenix, they go fast in Phoenix, you know what I love.

I lifted a Ferrari in the rain at sports car racing and they said the best way to be fast rain on rain tires is to race offline miss the line I said I'm your man I bet I can miss a line better than anyone else ever had a lot of experience I missed it my whole career I have this this is The rain has been heavier, like I said, outside our broadcast position, you can see it's really coming down right now and for the first time you get the feeling that Nascar has to make a correct decision, but before you never get to this point. but now you're under red it's raining hard you're losing track we'reclosing at 10 o'clock in the east it takes a long time to dry this place out uh it's going to be hard to restart this kind of I wonder if that will be the case with rain tires in NASCAR.

We need someone to miss the lines. Maybe i will come back. You might be good at it, although that might be a hot commodity. Fox weather is in, you know? It reached near record levels today in Daytona Beach, but this rain is part of a cold front, so it will be much colder here tomorrow before warming up again near 80 degrees on Sunday for the Daytona 500 and really what we're seeing good. now this was the only threat of precipitation this weekend this was the window we were worried about tomorrow looks great even though it's going to be a little cooler and everything now looks great for Sunday I would say it's raining the most loud enough now that you obviously see the drivers leaving.

I was going to say that NASCAR will most likely allow drivers to get out of the trucks and that's because the rain feels great for Zanes. Do you think so? It's just refreshing, just refreshing. I won the Daytona 500 here 20 years ago and the rain cut short and we ran a little over half the race and I won and they sent me the full check and you should get the trophy too, all good, I've always heard that the drivers You don't necessarily want to win a race when it's raining it's shorter, but when you consider that Zane basically won this race twice last year and then this is a nice reward, right?

That's great, good point, Regan, well, Adam and Zane Smith off the truck right now, uh, sane. Do you think it rains a lot right here? I imagine you want to compete again, but it's not bad if it keeps raining. Yes, I picked a good time to reach the leader. It was fun to run there, right before. The rain came, but man, this is the hardest train I've ever seen in my life. I tried to make weather predictions tonight. Not anymore, I won't do it anymore. Today they told me how good this truck was. You had a plan and a strategy that if you couldn't get stage points early you were going to hang out and play that strategy.

You and Chris Lawson played this perfect race, yeah, I mean, I decided to tag along with some I trusted there and Chase. and um and Corey and um it was just scary up there sometimes three wide looking for stage one points I knew it wasn't going to work so luckily I got uh our loves uh um love Speedco Ford F-150 I'm I'm still trying not to say mustang at the front at the right time and I say well, well, good luck getting going, Amanda, the points she's been able to score so far in the stages and Nick, when you reflect on the race you're doing.

So far I have had what has been the most important learning lesson for you. You just know the way these things move in the draft and the way they suck and you know how they react to the people around you behind you, so it's been a learning experience. curve, but I mean the truck is driving very well and at the end we were driving waiting for something to happen up front and then we were going to go well, you took these trucks full to the green flag, you went with us on that first lap and just what was going on for the emotional side of your body, yeah, for me, I just didn't want to go too far to let the outside surround me and that's exactly what happened, so I didn't do anything wrong in the I started there, but I figured it out and , you know, I'm really getting used to the way these things drive and I hope it's over because I think we have a truck, congratulations again for putting a lot of value on your rookie debut to build as a rookie. from Miami, Florida, so Zane mentioned that he was trying not to say mustang.

He was here in a Mustang last month. He experienced great success, sure, but he had four of our drivers here, well, three of them plus Harrison Burton, this has them fighting at the bus stop. later stretch here they both finish on the podium Harrison and Zane go to Victory Lane with a victory that is the pass to the lead over Spencer Papay right there, a great accomplished runner and Haley Deegan and Ben Rhodes finish third, so double podium for For the guys on the board of directors, any victory in the Daytona special is incredible and you can tell by the smiles on their faces that it was a great victory.

It's a memorable 24 hours for Zane Smith. You think about everything he experienced last night racing to get to the final. The Daytona 500 will make his second career Cup start here on Sunday, but his first in the great American race and now, waiting out the rain and hoping for the second year in a row he can win at Daytona in the Craftsman Truck Series , Regan oh Christian Atkins in third place. Smith told us just a couple of minutes ago Christian that this is the heaviest rain he has ever seen in his life. I imagine you probably disagree with that statement.

I swear, if Mickey Mouse gets involved in this, I'll be it. I'm very angry, but other than that, I'm very happy with my number 19 Napa Auto Care Chevrolet. It's very, very fast, so I hope this rain dries up and we get the Titans out and we get to the race track and we finish these 20 laps. And hopefully you'll get this new 19th contract at Victory Lane for yourself this season. You started off with a stage win here at Daytona. You were very strong all night with this truck. How much does that mean to be able to go out and have this? speed from the start, that means a lot, yeah I mean it's amazing to be here winning stages doing what I feel like we should be doing, competing for wins and we've done that so far and like I said I just hope we can get that green. here everyoneWell, good luck as we move forward, thank you.

I like his attitude. He wants to race and why not, he is third on the board one stage per stage and has a fast truck. Under the red flag because the rain here in Daytona is foreign. 27 laps left. in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season opener here in Daytona under the red flag for rain and we're drying the track and if you look at it it doesn't look that bad, it's wet, sure, but it doesn't look like it. be in bad shape and hopefully we can dry this out and get back to racing and I think Christianeckis is leading the charge to make that happen well, he made it known before we were going to break up with Jamie for Matt Crafter, you know, when spoke before the race, he said it was one of the best trucks he'd had at Daytona here in a long time.

I felt like you were in the running to possibly win this one, but now it's raining, we're under this red flag condition, you said it was the worst the truck had been all night just before this came out what unfolded I didn't say that It was worse that the trucks had been there all night, it was more like the outside lane, the guy driving outside the Lane just wouldn't back up to me so I could get to him to push him. Our truck is really good, but you have to have someone in front of you who knows how to back up so you can push it.

Being able to push it and I couldn't push it until I. I got there right before the turn so we couldn't get the outside lane up like we needed to and uh that's the aggravating part because by far the worst position we've been in on the track all night so these guys worked really hard and this is really really good, it drives really well, I can go where I want to go and I know if I can lead and I have someone behind me who can push me and who will stay with me for as long as we have the leadership, uh with Ty. and then he kicked me out and then I finished acting on that first stage, but the whole time I said I have to thank these guys, they've worked so hard on this, there's a lot of encouragement behind you right now, you're starting your 20th year with Menards . on board with you to be able to come with all the experience that you have with all these rookies but still have that support, what's that like as a pilot?

Oh, it's just incredible to think that a sponsor like Menards and John Menard and everyone at Menards, all the people that work at Menards, all the people that Menards suppliers support the racing program. Duke and Rhonda Thorson, they give us this opportunity. It's amazing to think that I've been doing it for so long and I've just done it. I can't thank you enough for the support I have, let's see if we can compete again. Thanks Matt Crafton, 46, from California, said it tonight and started his 522nd race. It all started in late 2000, when he ran. At what was his home track, Fontana, California, the three-time series champion did it in a row 13-14.

He did it again four years ago and those 15 wins put him in tenth place all time and he finishes among the top ten most of the time 312 top 10 finishes in 521 starts pretty good, you know, Matt's career started a little slow, it took a long time, you know, maybe close to 100 races or so before he got a result between top five and man has he been good since once he got it. noticed and obviously the Thor team's sport also improved and, tremendous race, let's go back to Regan Adam Sandler Gray, another of those drivers who has had a great start so far this season, taking second place and currently the first race.

With new crew chief Drain Donley, you guys seem to be communicating well, but I heard you guys say something on the radio about his truck not being able to reach those in front of you like you wanted. Is there any damage to the splitter or something we need? What to worry about, yeah, we got a little bit of damage to the divider just from the first deal, we got stuck, uh, and over here, and then we got squeezed up against the fence over there as well, but, yeah, I mean, overall , I mean. It's been as good as we would have liked, but we're in a good place right now and we're just figuring out how to capitalize on it.

I mean, obviously having this damage is going to make it difficult, but everyone at Tricon Garage is bringing a really fast stat on tools uh TRD Toyota Tundra, so I'm excited. Like I said, the start wasn't as smooth as we'd like, but you know they're not always perfect, so we have to figure out how we can do it. The end of this race will play out the way we need it to and we will put ourselves in a good place when I come to you. You are in the middle of a deep conversation on the phone.

Can you give me a clue how? What was that phone call or what was happening there? Yes, I was talking to Coleman Presley at the top of the stand. You know, I don't have much experience being honest about these things and I don't feel like it. I'm the best plate racer so I was talking to him and he was explaining some things to me and just talking about the strategy of what we're thinking about here in this next restart when we get back up and running so um. yeah, I was going to see how it plays out, definitely a good opportunity and a good guy to talk to Coleman Presley, one of the best on the roof.

Amanda is currently sitting in 12th position. Carson Hostovar absolutely wants to finish this race here in Daytona when If you look at the race we've had so far, pretty disjointed with the rain and the warnings, what do you think of it? I mean the good truck series, right, it's total chaos, you don't know what's going to happen. On the next lap, you know, I hope this rain stops. Mother Nature notices and wants to see us run again. I have a very good teammate, Travis Pastrana, he is used to being completely away or on the firewall and that's what we want.

Do we want to be in front? We want a chance to win for both of our wax Chevys. But in the end you know it's hard for me to look at that screen because they're all guys. I know we are going to have to compete for points. when they're in front of us, so I want to go out and get more points on them and try to get past them and try to get to Victory Lane, but overall the handling of our truck is really good, it drives really well. I love where it is, I would just like it.

I could have done those last five laps if I knew it was going to end well. You told me Daytona isn't your favorite race track, but when you talk about the old truck series, what are your intentions for the season? I want to win races. I'm here to win races and, you know, this puts my hands in the fate of everyone else, there are 35 others who take the time, moms, and think I'm the 36th. You know, we're sitting in line waiting to Almost se star, you know, we're all very greedy sometimes, but it's entertaining for the fans and that's the most important thing and you know that's what pays the bills.

Jamie for Colby Howard looking at his name on the board right now with LED two laps that puts a big smile on your face just seeing those numbers up there, the effort this team has put in to start this season full for the championship, what? How did this career develop for you? Yeah, it's been pretty hectic, you know, the beginning. We started in the back and then we had a good strategy right there and we got out to the front, we stayed in front for a while, but you know, they dragged us back, you know, some of the guys really don't like me up there.I don't think so uh I think I have to stay down and just have them push me but no it's a blast running up front and I hope we can keep going when I first got nervous was one of the words. that you used, you said it's getting pretty hectic, it's stressful, how do you handle all that when you're behind the wheel?

Yeah, I mean, we led a few laps last year here in this race, so you know, I have a little bit of experience being out front being, you know, in the draft with some of these guys with aggressive pushes, so you know, I already had a little bit of experience with that, so, and we've had some aggressive guys up front right now, so uh. Just trying to stay cool and calm thanks, thanks Jamie got news from Nascar Megan making progress with track under rain red flag 27 for Zane Smith to be in charge at Daytona welcome back to NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series coverage from Daytona, where efforts are underway to dry the track, it is starting to look a little drier after we have had a series of showers pop up over the course of the night in Florida.

I'm Caitlin Vincy alongside Trevor Bay Todd Bodine and this is just a race that won't end well. I mean, honestly, it's been going on for a while, but Zayn Smith is on the bright side. You know it's going to be a long day when you do a lap and you have your first rain caution and all those jet drivers were on the track, which is a good sign for everyone except Zane Smith, like you mentioned, he, he, he played well there, he said, man, it's pouring rain here and we've all been on that boat where you are, you're trying to convince everyone, this race is over, I've got this thing locked in here, he was definitely doing a rain dance, him and everything his team, but, you know, it's not like that, it's not surprising to see Zayn. up front, no, we expected from him, he's a great runner, he's an excellent plate runner, eh, but I have to be honest, I hope they go back to being green because I don't want them to win back to back, take care of yourselves, no, it's bad, that's how it is.

Bad for fake, shouldn't have said okay, so here's the current race order, how they stand as of now at Daytona for the truck series. You see Zayn Smith, obviously, P1, Tanner Gray in second place, Christian has had. a very good night, one of the stage winners that stands out from this list, the top ten at the moment, where we are in this race, well you have to go one more there, Colby Howard, what a great race for him, You know? He made a strategy in the pits, got there, but stayed there after the second stage break, so he's doing a great job.

We have seen him before running very well in these plate races. Well there are two things for me, one is how the hell did he do it. The three of us didn't pick Zane Smith, uh, that's true. The second thing is that Chase Elliott is sitting quietly in 10th place. I feel like he's been very smart the whole night we saw at the end of the first stage, he just left the group when he went crazy. Pretty much the same at the end of stage two and being in 10th place with quite a few laps to go, I mean, his truck is in one piece, he's very smart and he's not trying to prove anything from the start, here we were.

Watching this race before and Todd, now we're just talking about how you get stuck in the moment that you guys were predicting accidents right before they happen, while you know you see trucks moving and to me, you know you just get stuck. Right now and Chase has the experience of knowing this is a long race, I'm going to hang out, but with the rain it changes well, you mentioned the crashes and stuff, let's take a look at a recap of the race to see how we got to this point. In the evening, first of course, Christian, as I mentioned, was a stage winner, good for him.

It was already solid for him and then it wasn't long before a multi-truck accident involving Haley Deegan and others, what did you see? when this was happening to me well that was one of those deals Clay Greenfield was just in a bad position we heard in his interview in the middle with a truck that doesn't drive well and Trevor I'm sure you agree if your truck wandering and moving you can't get in the way you're going to have an incident like that, yeah, and this accident here, I mean, it was an aggressive conversation very early on, since we mentioned getting caught up in the moment that was the right one and Those are the two guys who froze causing the block to stay engaged and then Rhodes stayed committed to the throttle, but he said he had a lot of help from the back, he had no choice but to stay on the throttle.

Positive things. For this driver, although stage two winner Tyler Inc is obviously one of those who survived some of the earlier incidents in the Raja Karuta hand-to-hand combat we talked about in the pre-race show, a young driver very promising already has a disappointing end to his tournament of the day and very close to eliminating our current leader Zane Smith only goodbye left I don't know even an inch more or less it was crazy to see that one and see who managed to pass uh I was surprised that they hadn't demolished many more trucks in That, yeah, well the good news is that Zayn Smith was one of the few that couldn't be picked up in any incident.

Here you'll see him taking the lead on lap 65. And when your spotter gets close to Todd and you hear him rain. You start running like it's the last lap, absolutely, you're doing it right there. We saw Tyler Ingram like he made fun of Corey Lejoy a little bit. Corey thought he was going to follow him, he went to the outside of him and that's how they changed. hands and following lap 74 red black out in Daytona Beach Florida, so now what's going to happen for the rest of this race? We've had rings on the track, how our drivers and teams will adapt to this.

Zane goes to take the umbrella out of him. and it's still raining, that's right, it's over and I'm interested in watching what happens here as it goes, how dry they can leave the track, if it's going to rain again and how long it takes, but if it's you. I know christianette because she said I don't want to see Zane Mickey Mouse and we've been trying to figure out what the Mickey Mouse scene means Mickey Mouse in the old days we called it backing into a victory yeah.so yeah he thinks he has a strong truck and it does it.

We've climbed it a couple of times, then I won the first stage and I think he probably has a truck to beat. He has his teammate there, Chase Elliott, as I mentioned, but Travis Pastrana. You know, I see him sitting there at 13. Yeah, and he's one of those guys that can sneak into this if we go green again and Travis, he got to the front a couple of times and made a couple of rookie mistakes. back, but he did a great job, get back to the front, but I think you know Caitlin, if we run again here with 20 to go, these guys will be on the chip from the start, guys like Chase Elliott running.

Tenth, he has 20 laps to get to the lead, something that is not easy to achieve at Daytona, so I think we will see very tough races. Here's Zayn Smith, the current race leader, of course, the defending champion so far in the truck series. waiting for it to pass, hoping that maybe they will decide it in their favor, but here is the majority of the LED laps tonight, the guys who have been leading the Brigade, see Christian Eck, 19 lap leader tied with Corey LaJoie, Tyler Ingram in the mix and Zane Smith as Well, Corey LaJoie, we can't see it, often in the truck series has been a great performance for him.

You know Travis talked about that on the pre-race show. Core is a good runner, we saw that last night. a qualifying race and he had a chance to win and we've seen them before Daytona Talladega have good races so it wasn't surprising to see him run out front with a good truck like that well let's hear what some of his thoughts are on this . point at night and send him to the racetrack at Daytona where Regan Smith is waiting with Corey Lajoy Corey Lajoy had a very, very strong night tonight and then it was time for what ultimately would possibly be the final stops in pits of the The night that you guys opted to stay out they told you that there was a little miscommunication there uh just a little bit of miscommunication as unfortunately there was no communication.

I think the green light on top of the Pace truck I didn't point out, the spotter didn't. I pointed it out and Bono didn't realize it was on and we lost it, uh, but we're still in a decent spot leading the lane and I didn't cover the background as intently as I should have. I just didn't do it. Trust the punctual mirror. The spot mirrors on trucks are a little different than those on cup cars and I thought he was there. I didn't want to get hooked so we have to start from scratch again, so we drove from back to front twice now, so why don't we do it three more times to get the same victory lane you mentioned, going from the back forward?

The truck is obviously very good. Are you going to be the show here in just a little bit? a little bit for us and uh yeah, why not I mean, I'm awake and I have caffeine in degrees Celsius here, so I might as well uh let's start this up again, let's go to the front, maybe I need to borrow. some of that caffeine here shortly good luck corey thanks yes please send a full box of caffeine here too so that's smart he's getting some

energy

drink in his system to get him the rest of the way what do you think we'll see in a quarry well most of the time before a plate race you need the opposite like everything to calm me down but you know it's late at night he could take that caffeine the right way uh Corley Joy is right I mean ha come from behind a few times to the front and I think he can do it again.

She has the experience that people have seen. She has a fast truck and hasn't made any of those erratic moves that make people afraid to work with you. We heard from Matt Crafton in his interview. We talked about the time when Jeske eradicates him to his teammate, so to me you try to build trust in all the trucks and drivers around you so that at the end of the race they will come with you and help you. We know Corey is a good tackle racer and we also know Corey isn't afraid to be aggressive, that's true throughout his career, so he'll be the show from behind.

Well, you guys just mentioned Jeske's moment, he's one of the pilots that he was. he was able to go to Victory Lane several times last season. He is currently waiting on the track with Jamie Howe. He started this race on the front row. He led a couple of laps there. He made the pit call. Many strategy calls are developing here tonight. exciting was the word you use, what made it that way, uh, just aggression, guys are pushing hard, being aggressive, going three wide, I don't think anyone is too scared and eventually something had to happen , we are, we have been in the wings. but on the grass, it's been an eventful night for us, but Joe and all the guys brought a really good Ford F-150 Road Ranger, we've got some speed, there's a leading Ford, we're in sixth place and I think Ben and uh, Crafton is just outside the top ten, so hopefully we can go green again, plug in and get one of these Fords in Victory Lane, so we heard from him and we know he had a really good campaign last season last, what are you waiting for? this year, based on kind of a great season for him last year, yeah, he got that monkey off his back by getting that first win and there was a lot of pressure on him at that point to do it because he had been so close. several times, but he now has two victories for that championship.

I think that experience this year is not just a late model winning driver now or you know, he's got some Xfinity starts, now he's a truck winner, a championship contender and it's his. second full season on Thor Sports, so I think this team all season long will be a contender not only for wins, but I really think Jessica's time is set to be in the final four in Phoenix and fight for a championship , Yes, totally. Agree with you, you know we saw it coming last year. First full season of the truck series and it started the season a little slow, but I think he was going through a learning curve, learning the trucks, learning the tracks, learning the drivers and as the season progressed. he got to the halfway point, they got it, him and Joe's crew chief, Joe Shear, and they were quick from the start.

I think we'll see even more of that this year, multiple race winner. I'm going to put that. wow absolutely and I think you're right he's going to be one of our four championships okay I love this I love it when you guys it's always good to do so here's the current running order for the first match of the season in Daytona, you see Zane Smith P1 followed by Tanner Gray Colby Hour, how about being among thetop five? We haven't talked much about him yet today. Grant and the finger pass the Daytona winner into the mix. Very good, we look forward to the drawing of the track.

The efforts are working at Daytona, as we are currently in a holding pattern, there is Zayn Smith with the crew chief, they are waiting for it to happen, hoping that maybe, somehow, they can get this race too; otherwise the giveaway continues. We will have more racing coverage after this good day abroad. Rain at Daytona International Speedway stopped the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season-opening race with 27 laps left and the leader, the guy who won here last year, Zane Smith, is our reigning champion. champion and I guess there are mixed emotions. You want to win this under the green flag condition, but you should take it any way you can get it.

I'm here with Michael Waltrip and Phil Parsons. I'm Adam Alexander and I'm thinking about Zane and what it would mean for him to go back to back and for me the best part of our studio coverage where Todd Bodine admitted he's rooting for Zane because Todd wants to remain the only driver to win two in a row at Daytona. I have bad news for Todd. I look over my shoulder and I can see turns one and two and the track is drying out pretty quickly, so I think we'll go unless it rains more. I think we will compete again and what a final it is going to be, we saw how intense these guys get at the end of the stages.

I mean, that's how it has been, said my palm sweating madly. Tom Majeske said it's better. I've been to Rex, I've been to grass and now. I'm running in third place, he's in front, he has a chance to win, win. I almost think he's my favorite after everything he's been through. The boys in the study said they think aggression is actually going to increase. I think it increased. When they threw the green flag to start, we obviously had a little trouble getting started because of the rain, but these guys have been aggressive and have been pushing for three wides.

I don't think they can get more. aggressive, but we have some great stories, especially in the top 10, Colby Howard, yeah, in the top five. Christian Neck has been strong all night and Zayn has really run a smart race and is in the lead, as you mentioned, he's another Tyler Ingram guy, but Constantly up front, Matt Crafton, the veteran, has been a lot of fun to see. Let's go back to Pit Road for the way our pit reporters did an incredible job on the elements to bring all of these interviews to Jamie Howe five. and Grant and Finger are the drivers who complete the top five, but you were disappointed after qualifying, you said we have to be aggressive, we have to be smart, how have you been able to do that and be in this position tonight?

I feel like for the most part we did our job today, we hadn't been able to lead any of the lanes. I feel like we have a really good Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet, we just hadn't gotten the opportunities to lead yet, but we've been able to get track position, lose it, get it back, and somehow we've gotten past those two big ones, so we still We have a full truckload, which is more than some people can say. So we still have a chance to win this. Hensley and I were already talking. Hey, are we in last place?

Are we at the top? We're lining up fifth, so we'll be in the third row somewhere, um, so we'll have to. See it may take a little time to dry this track. One of the big talking points of not only this race but the entire season has been the youth versus the wisdom on the track as the race develops. What role does it have? Has the new generation of rookies played and what happened, you know, I think it's been like that in the truck series for a while, but I think everyone's been ultra aggressive the whole time, the rookies, the veterans, everyone, I want say, it is, it is.

It had to have been an entertaining race for the fans. I hope you enjoyed it. The handling is starting to go away here at Daytona. He is a pilot that I love. I hope the fans love it. There are guys slipping and sliding in a turn four. I especially feel like we're handling ourselves a little better than most. I'm not saying we're handling it well in turn four, but I think we're handling it a little better than most. We have 27 laps left. I don't see anyone putting tires back on, everyone will want to have track positions, so I hope in the end it will be a factor for us and we can take advantage of it.

Sounds a bit cautiously optimistic, we'll see what happens Amanda, thanks Jamie and Stewart Phil Parsons was saying on the stand that we've seen a lot of special stories here tonight and if there was a late night host who never gave up, I think I'd like to give you that prize. I've seen you in this hole. Lane, there have been chainsaws on his car, they have taken off fenders. I know this team has been working very hard. It's a special weekend for you here in Daytona. Why is it great to have the full spectrum of colors in the truck? targets autism as our foundation and to raise awareness about autism and also promote our golf tournament on April 17th in Mooresville so hfire race for autism.com you can go there and sign up your foursome if you want to come play golf or donate or anything you can do.

So it's a bummer. I just threw a late block. I was a little slow on the wheel and I turned around and found myself in a bad situation. I'm very proud of my boys. The entire Halmar International team here has been working. It's really very difficult to stay there and try to save as many points as we can and that's it, so we'll try to keep working on it and hopefully there will be a bit more chaos in front of us so we can pick up. A couple more points here, you were telling me that you love the truck series because with all the traveling this series does, this year we will see North Wilkes Borough and we will also see the Milwaukee Mile when you think about your my stay in this Craftsman Truck Series what comes to mind, oh man I'm proud to be here for so long.

We had some great races with Ferris commercial mowers on board for six races this year, so I'm really proud of that aspect. I'm looking forward to going to Texas and having the big red 52 truck at um you know Milwaukee is obviously one of those races too so going to North Wilkesboro Milwaukee uh some bucket list tracks and looking forward to the schedule of this year in your next race, forgive me and the next one. race yeah our next race will be right here in Volusia tomorrow night on the modified dirt then we'll head back to Las Vegas and then some more modified racing so we've been here two weeks racing some modified payout. late model stuff and have as much fun as we can and it looks like we're going to get back to this 52 Hal Mari uh TRD Pro ride and keep fighting thanks Stuart Regan Amanda Travis Pastrana's goal tonight was to complete all of the laps get as much experience as you can So far, you've completed that goal and I have to tell you to listen on the radio.

I don't know if there's anyone here having more fun than you right now, yeah, so far, so good, man, let's go to the pit, so you've got Chase. Elliott and everyone around you. I think, man, this is just incredible to live every moment, but I will tell you that nice Motorsports worldwide Express uh truck is a weapon, it's incredible and we do much better at the top. We've been trying to get to the top, but every time someone attacks me, I have that yellow sticker. in the back and I split into three, luckily it's fun in the middle, in three, it feels like a dirt track that we had some experience on last week, but no, hopefully now we have Carson right in front of me, if I can.

Get in there I didn't want to be up front as soon as I was, but how the strategy worked in the pits, so hey, I think he'll put your P5, you're ready. I was born with this, come on. I know the goal was to learn some things. for Sunday in this race, so what have you been able to learn? What can you carry over to Sunday that will help you in the Daytona 500? um, you know, hopefully, gain a little bit of confidence, I think you know for the most part. It's about finding people to work with and probably when all the observers say, "Hey, avoid that guy if you can, he's, you know, we don't know anything about him.

I'm going to have to work with those guys, I think in the 500". and with luck, I will go up. I know Jimmy is going to start again with me so maybe he'll get me on his bumper and I'm sorry Jimmy but he's trying to try and get there so he doesn't let anyone in but I'm telling you this. I've been a little tight in the Cup car and the truck and I think that's perfect. I feel like anyone who pushes me. I feel like we are stable. You know, my goal was actually just uh. Sorry, that's the wind my goal here is. do our best to have a lot of fun, which I'm definitely having more than I expected and just see it through to the end, so we're doing that right now, we'll see what happens, thanks Travis Jamie. but then Rhodes, one of the key things about him coming into the race was that he felt like the team had prepared for any possible situation.

His truck right now has the rain cover covering all the tape on the nose, which happened. you're in a position where you can't you can't lead tonight um well maybe we can go we don't know yet we're not back in the lead um I was working really well with Christian Eckers uh coming to the front for the second stage and I had a great race, he was pushing me very hard and I didn't know exactly where to go. I could have stayed behind the 52 and hit it and it was in a bad place or taken the open track and potentially got the stage win, so I went that route and when I came out the 52 was coming up the block and ran out of real estate, so all in all it's a bad deal for everyone involved, but I really feel like our watches The Clark F-150 pump shop is back in top condition, as the guys in the pit saw 40.

I mean, they made a really good job getting the truck to actually, you know, put back together a lot of Bear Bond drywall screws like they did. everything and push well uh I think if we can get back here we can get back to the front and we could lead, but I prefer to stay behind someone and make a move at the end. I know you had a moment of reflection yesterday before. Practice looking up and down in the garage area and realize that you are now one of the veterans of this series. I know you laughed a lot at that, but what do you think about what an experience the Truck Series has been?

I can tell you what you do with it, it's been fun, it's been fun. I've been very fortunate to have a good career here in the truck series and you know it's all thanks to Thor Sport Racing and Duke and Rhonda Thorson so I'm just enjoying it, it's strange to hear that I'm a veteran. I don't believe it. I'm still 25 years old and I hope to be doing this for much longer. I love the truck series, it's so much. It's fun and there's a lot of new talent coming into this and every year it's a challenge trying to learn about the new guys and then keep competing with the old veterans that I've gotten used to, but overall it's been a tremendous amount of fun for me and I just hope we get to compete again today because this is what I love to do and you know the rain is no fun.

No one likes Ben Rhodes to have a lot of

energy

late at night, but could someone get Travis a cup of coffee? Pastrana, I mean, wasn't he out of control? He's not Chip. He said he was made for this. I felt like Regan was trying to match him and he just couldn't get there. This umbrella goes towards Zayn. Smith Hall of Famer, but if he wins this race, he will work hard to end this. Thank you, thank you, foreigner. Let me start with the good news, okay, it's not raining right now, they're making progress on the track and we're getting news. that NASCAR had told drivers to stay close to their trucks, those are all positive signs, I love it, we are moving in a good direction to restart this race and I have another good news, Corey Lejoy, 24th, we are back right now to compete, he goes.

It will be exciting to see so many great stories, so many guys that are still in a great position to win this race, who they will be and by the way, an update on Zane Smith, he is the only one walking down Pit Road holding the umbrella, I think he will have with him in the trucks when we compete again, let's listen to Derek Krause. Jamie, well, Derek Krause is one of the drivers who can't wait to get back behind the wheel of his truck. He is at number 20 this weekend. but he is experiencing some of the downsides of motorsports and you need sponsorship.

This is the only race you have scheduled so far for the season. what are you going to do with her? I hope it's over. Here we are like spinning around. I'm trying to finish this soI don't really think they're done yet, but we're going to try to make the most of this race and it's really cool to have a Hardscape build on the side of the uh. truck number 20, so I'm really looking forward to finishing this. Oh, he's a nice character up and down Pit Lane. When you think about this influx of drivers and the number of vehicles available, we see six trucks heading home tonight.

How difficult is that challenge as a driver? It's all about finding the right piece. The right team that you can build a relationship with and have the right team, so I'm excited to see what we can work out for the rest of us. This year I feel like we have a couple of things and we're working, it just takes a lot of sponsorship so I'm looking forward to it and I'll see if we can meet up. I hope we see each other again. Reagan Jamie Chase. Purdy began his tenure at Kyle Busch Motorsports and had a great career so far.

You were in second place at the end of stage two and you got some much needed points there when the season starts, but a moment ago he told me that you guys were riding and it started raining. How badly do you want this race to continue? I'd love to get back in the race car right now, Regan, but we've been driving and I thought in my head, "Well, we've had three cautions." or so we're ready for the rain, maybe we should go to the front, but you know, Microchief and the teams have a lot more experience than me, so I'll trust them probably more than me at the moment, but no, I hope we can go back.

We got a very fast Cowboys number four Silverado and I mean we can go wherever we want with it, so if we can get back to the race car, then I think our plan will be to try to go to the front. I have good news for you. It looks like they're calling them back to their trucks right now. Thanks Regan, how about a quick story on Chase Purdy, so he was part of the NASCAR Next show with Zane Smith and Haley Deegan and all that? group brought it to our Charlotte Studios for the NASCAR race to introduce them to the NASCAR community.

We will have them all on the program so we can meet him. He is from Meridian Mississippi. I assume he was born in Meridian Mississippi. Shannon spoke up. she makes the connection the man who gave her up his last name was Purdy she tells Chase is your grandfather a doctor he said it's they did the math Chase's grandfather Purdy handed Shannon over spoke in Meridian Mississippi what a small world how crazy it is that hey It's a great weekend here in Daytona tonight, all about the Craftsman Truck Series, tomorrow we open the year in the Xfinity series and Sunday is the 65th running of the Daytona 500.

Yes, and the Daytona 500 is all around us. One thing remains the same. show time in Daytona all marbles on the table Great American Race on February 19 the next chapter of this story will be told a checkered flag, it's number 65 of the Daytona 500 and it's only on Fox's coverage here on FS1 starts at 11 a.m. ET on Sunday on Fox at one and we can't wait for the great American drivers to head out to their trucks. We will compete with the fans again in Daytona. Stay with us. Thanks, the series' season opener from Daytona International Speedway, where it looks like there's light at the end of the tunnel because the covers have been taken off the trucks, it looks like the rain has moved away for now, which is a great thing. .

Caitlin Vincy once again with Trevor Bain, but you're already laughing because we were cheering. A moment ago when the covers came in, I was laughing because, just right, they called the drivers to their trucks and Zane is still standing there with his umbrella like he's raining. It's still open for that race. Yeah, what's up with that Zayn Smith? What do you think he was? going through his mind in this whole kind of wait and see period, yeah, I mean, I think you're optimistic that this could happen, but you're also realistic that you're probably going to come back for the helmet to go away.

I'll be honest, though with Zane Smith here he didn't have to rain to win this race. I mean, he's a contender in this, it's not the pit strategy that got him there, it's not a fluke that he's leading. In this race they have a strong truck that they won last year, so it can still get the job done, whether it's dry or raining, Todd you absolutely know that, but there are a lot of guys behind them that are going to try to stop that. for this to happen and I think we heard Phil say that he thought the energy had been there from the beginning and I think he will increase even more here in these last 20 laps, drunk, pushed, pushed, dragged, pushed and pushed. three widths.

We'll see all that in the next 20 laps. We're going to touch on that in just a minute. Let's now take a look at the current racing order, where he is at Daytona right now. Zane Smith P1. Tanner Gray right behind him Grant and finger in the top five, a previous winner at Daytona, good time performance, jet ski Tyler Ingram Corey Heim, who is always strong whenever he is in a truck, races full time this year, veteran Matt Crafton has raced so many times. That Daytona has never won there, hopes that can change today, so what do we think for when the race returns?

What do you anticipate? Let's see if they will be more of a team because they want this to happen. No way, no way, it's not intense, at some point it's going to come loose again, but you know some names that you just mentioned over time and Jessica and Corey Heim. I feel like they've had a calm day and sometimes that's exactly what you want until the end of Daytona and Talladega tracks like this, you just want to be calm and have everyone trust you and then when the time comes to go, speed things up right here, you were talking about wide blue earlier, Todd, we already had it. a lot of that, I think there's a lot more to come and you also mentioned pushing, we see the 19 there pushing Travis Pastrana pretty hard in this shot, yeah, so you've already said that you think it's going to be total chaos once he completes the Editorial chaos galore.

I'm going to tell you something: you look at these guys when they're doing their draft and you see the guy in front, all wavy and sideways, that's the worst feeling in the world and very hard to keep the truck just to go straight and when a guy doesn't he lets you go if he puts you on his side that's when you get in trouble, so hopefully, what you mentioned before, Trevor won't get caught up in drafting trying to get ahead because that's when you get in trouble, well there's a great technique for that now with the rules that Nascar has about not blocking the bumpers, you used to easily reach your bumper or block and push them very easily, now it's worth it. actually, to hit them pretty hard, push it in front of you and then hit them again, it's like you want to ram them hard, throw them there and then do it again, so it's a little different than the old style where you relaxed. against the bumper and then he pushed them, we saw it earlier in the night and there were a couple of times that I was a little worried, but there's a great technique to see this here where he pushes it, backs up, pushes and backs up and the way he what you do is hit him hard enough to knock him unconscious Todd well that's the only way I mean we listened to crafts and talked about how he was out at the time with Jeske and that's how he got to the front and if not you do.

You don't have that guy like he said backing up to you so you can hit him and get that momentum, well you're not going anywhere so I think when it comes to the end of this, the guys with the right experience are I'm going to understand that kind of stuff and these young kids exactly that's what I hope they eliminate. One of the drivers who has a lot of experience is Zane Smith, the defending champion, of course, also one of several drivers pulling double duty this weekend at Daytona. A whole crop of them that are racing in both the cup and the TRUE?

You've both been through this before, what is it? Like for the drivers who manage all the different series, practices, qualifying races, what is that? Well, you see this list of drivers here and each of these drivers has totally different goals for this truck race. I mean Zane Smith, he's competing for a championship. Chase Elliott, he's just doing it to get some experience and be there for the Cup race, not that he needs more experience, but it's a lot of fun, but Travis Pastrana, pretty much the same thing, is running his first 500 of Daytona and thinks it's good to run the truck race.

Corey LaJoie similar uh but then you have Sammy Smith who is running the Xfinity race and this is kind of a fair experience for him everyone is there to experience but Zane Smith is one that stands out on that list this is his race for the money today, the 500, is great. he's going to do that oh yeah but I think this is the one he's really worried about this weekend yeah I totally agree with you and you know these guys like it to be hard to come and go but today it's a lot easier , that's right and I have good news for you, I think the engines are starting which is very exciting for us, we've been waiting, here's a look at this for Daytona 500 week, here's tomorrow, God mine, it's going to be a long day because we have the Cup.

The series practices qualifying for Xfinity, a racehub edition, as well as, of course, the Xfinity and ARCA races, and there is a Daytona 500 schedule for Sunday. You certainly don't want to miss the Great American race, but we're getting closer to competing once again for the truck series. which is really cool so we want to send him back to the track of course guys in the booth and say hello one more time to Adam take him thanks Caitlin I don't know what time we're here. It's not the 24 Hours of Daytona, but we're knocking on the door and the good news is we're going to finish this, I think, and there's Zane Smith in the truck, no umbrella, first time in two hours.

I've seen him without his, uh, his blanket, so to speak. Yeah, I think I know he would love to win under green, but I think he would have accepted it if they had told him, "Hey, it's raining too much." The track is too wet. I have not done it. It's time to dry it off, you know you have to appreciate the persistence of NASCAR, so for the fans, absolutely for the people watching here at the track and at home, this race has been so exciting, so much action that it's going to be fun to watch. I will close these 27 finals. laps, it's been about an hour since we had this most recent rain and then they worked hard to make sure the track was dry and we could finish this on green and now I'm wondering, from a driver's perspective, what do you do to restart because you know We've said it so many times that this race is only 100 laps, it might feel like a Sprint, but the reality is the fun doesn't really start until you get to the remaining 20 laps, so where are you?

Now as a driver, what is your focus as we move forward? These guys are professionals, they understand the challenges we faced tonight and they will just put on their helmets and try to run the most perfect 25 laps. Green flag they have their entire career, they know the challenges but they also know the reward that's out there winning at Daytona, so I'll tell you I don't think we'll see a lot of different action in these. The last 25 laps we've seen all night pushing, pushing, attacking, that will be the story, who will be able to survive, that will be the big question, yeah, I think if you look at the radar and say, okay, the rain is gone and it looked like It's probably then, so we know we have, you know we'll probably have 23 or 24 laps left when we restart this race, but I'm not sure they're not going to run every lap like it's their last.

We've seen it all night, I'd venture to guess that's what we'll see for the rest of the night. I will say that although many times we have questioned where we are on the aggression meter and we thought it was linked and then I think we broke the meter so I don't know where we will go to the bottom, yes, but I believe anything in this scenario, well , just think how fast the Hunt party is. He's back at 17. Jack Wood 18. Nick Sanchez 19th and I already talked about Corey LaJoie from 24th, they have to get going, they can't be found waiting, so we have guys like Zane and Tanner up front who will try to protect that advantage. and some guys in the back like these four trucks that are determined to get to the front and now we know that there are 26 laps to go unless we do 15 or 20 laps of overtime, they all have enough fuel to get to the end, so there is no more strategy in boxes. the red flag just over an hour and a special thank you to everyone who has been working here today.

It's been a long time for everyone at Daytona International Speedway, but hopefully we'll get the reward for the great finish. We'll go back to the green flag later. "Look at this, the trucksThey're back on the track after the red flag, but they need to get through Pit Road, so it'll be a couple more laps before we get going as they go down the track as Jeske takes 6th place. I mean, they." I'm showing Zayn's camera and it's got water everywhere, it says track five, but with this heavy lady, I don't know how it can get any better, you know, I mean, it's not as bad as it's been here, but it's pretty close I know it's still flowing so stay away, yeah Duggar, Tim Duggar, there in the back says it's getting wet, yeah, that's what's happening Country music star, big time.

Nascar fan. I hope he doesn't cut his guitar. He has a new one. The song might as well buy a bar. I think I'll buy a bar after tonight. with those Craftsman stickers on the front windshield if they are red? I think that means the truck is running full time and for a title that is correct, that's what I understand, yes, and the black indicates that it is the. other hand, not racing full time for part time champions. I love it, I love that beat up and abused truck too, but still. in the race currently he's in sixth position and there's Chase Elliott where the blacks, but yeah, in the background of the white Craftsman NAPA Auto up here in the back of that truck, a lot of Napa's guests are here.

I wonder if they are still here. I would say absolutely right ahead of Chase Elliott Matt Crafton's 88 ninth right now here is that the test was still wet, it's raining pretty hard around here, hitting harder that's an observation I'll agree with as we look around window. towards the lights on the track is crazy, although I mean, as soon as they started the engines and came out of pit lane we looked out the window and you could see that the Mist had returned. I looked at the forecast, I looked at the radar, and It'll be fine, I mean there might be some now and then, but there's no long-term rain, so we should go in, but God, given the way this played out, I almost feel like that we're lucky to be where we are three-quarters of the time.

The road through this race has been a great night. I think Matt Crafton is confident that he is currently in ninth position, but he has been out front, as you can see the rain on the lights, he has been out front all night, very competitive and very aggressive putting himself in position to take the lead. lead. I like what I'm seeing from this team, especially after the talk I had with him yesterday and his energy and enthusiasm for this 2023 season sounded like he was 21 instead of up. In the mid-40s, you talk about drivers who have had positive performances.

I know he wants to race again and get a little more, but Tyler Rankrum has been solid, winning the stage in seventh right now and Corey Heim, behind him, was really calm for the first two. The stages came to life, he got into the mix and he's running in eighth place driving one of those Toyotas for the Tricon Garage Rookie of the Year last year, and as we've talked about several times tonight, the winds of ARCA are coming here at Daytona too. , two wins in the truck series last year, yeah, one of them in Atlanta in the draft, well I think that was the last pass back, honestly, oh, that was a Handler Thriller, yeah, so Nick Sanchez at Pit Road hopes to do what Corey Heim did last year and that's when the rookie of the year started the poll today and I know he was disappointed with where he was during the red flag when he was talking to our people down below, but he felt that if we could continue one more time, I could make a play with so much uncertainty. about Kabush Motorsports because they're going from Toyota to Chevrolet, but we've talked about Chase Purdy and Jack Wood has done some positive things tonight and then you make the connection with Nick Sanchez and rev and the alliance there.

I know Daytona doesn't tell you. everything you need to know, but if this is the foundation of this racing team, especially when Kyle starts racing this 51, from time to time they seem to be in a very good place with everything they've been through and the changes they've made , yes I think so. Also again and again, you know this race may not be representative of what we'll see in Las Vegas and subsequent races and, uh, but it's certainly a good start, and are they tilting the rear wing up? Those are spoiler brackets that are adjustable on the back of that truck is what they were doing Michael was maybe giving it a little more a little more rear wing maybe that truck a little loose try to give them a little more downforce, yeah, so I can be more aggressive as these laps ease up, that's an interesting question that certainly seemed like that's what was happening, what would happen if we tried calling Chase Elliott and asking him about the weather and what he thinks about traffic conditions?

Hey Chase, we're Waltrip and the booth guys here for Fox, copy how's it going? It's going great, it looks like you're having a lot of fun. I was just curious as a veteran, what do you think about the track conditions right now and how your night is going? You ask, that's too good, the track seems good to me. I would love to get this show on the road myself, but you know, otherwise, it's been fun. I've never raced Speedway with a truck before, so it's been eye-opening, but I appreciate, I appreciate all these guys for having me and I hope you enjoyed the show a little bit, at least it's been fun to watch.

I know it's crazy, are you surprised by the aggression? Can it increase more? I imagine that if we return, there will be a lot to see. I appreciate your time closer to us. Thank you all. Enjoy someday. I would like to know more about this. It has been revealing. I mean, I don't know which direction. It's over if I expanded on that, but I feel like I had a lot to say on that topic. You know, it's really interesting when you look at these trucks within the top ten, some of them look like they were just unloaded from the truck.

They looked like they were in great form, others like Ben Rhodes, I mean feeling the effects of what has been a crazy night, but he's been able to stay in the game, ninth at the moment is 99. Yeah, that's literally a good track. , everybody up. The front just means it's not so they can finish the race where they are, but the track is literally fine, there's nothing wrong with it, agree with Chase, yeah, Chase says, let's go race, it's ready right now, let's do it, then we have. a report that on the radio in the Pace truck they said it's raining everywhere and now we're down.

I mean, we're running laps under yellow. There are 21 to go, so we are getting ready to come. to our Craftsman 20 to go, yes, if I do my calculations right I will do the readings, thank you very much, that's fine, you do the heavy lifting. I'll just add a little bit of color. I'm coming back here for a race and Michael is trying to take that job already, what's wrong with you? Well I will say that it is fogging harder now than it has been in the last 20 30 minutes so I will agree as you see a little bit of moisture on the camera lens which clues that in and also it looks like it is getting a little bit darker with each uh, with each turn that these trucks are taking on yellow.

I went down this road very briefly before about everyone here at the track, but let me give a big shout out to all the people, the men and women who make these broadcasts possible on Fox Sports, we just had the Super Bowl and what it takes to put it on. and then travel the whole team here to Daytona, the turnaround time is very short and our people do a great job working behind the scenes to make sure you see everything you want to see and it's not just the trip across the country in the setup, think about how long this day has been and then we'll get an early start tomorrow and same thing on Sunday before heading to California and racing at Fontana next weekend so a big thank you to everyone involved for making this happen and work on the elements on a night like this in overtime too and we just found out that they're going to circle the field again at Pit Road and We could be getting close to a decision, yeah, you gotta.

I have to wonder how many times that's what you know NASCAR will do, so you have to give them credit for certainly making an effort to dry this up and have a race to the finish for these fans and spectators. at home, what do you think Zane Smith is going to say? I told you too, yeah, if you could have had an umbrella in the car, you would have had a brother in the truck, it's been a fun, fun night, watching these guys get aggressive, mix it up, do. Some moves make things happen, but it looks like all the fun could be over, all the fun is over for everyone except Zayn Smith and for him it's just the beginning, someone give Zane his umbrella, but I think if you've been in the middle of many accidents.

As Tanner Gray has been, he's probably just as happy for this to come to an end and comfortable with his second place finish, which will be a career-best result for Tanner Gray, and what about Colby Howard in the top five? ? Plus, there's Kobe's truck number nine. by Cody Robaugh who was in another of his trucks I got involved in one of those earlier incidents and I'm out for the night but great job by Colby Howard running in the top five here well let's get back to what could very well be In the moment decisive of this race we were under the green and that 38 made his move, yeah, and Corey Lejoy said I didn't close the bottom fast enough and you can see right there he had a chance to dive down in front of Zane, but he wasn't there.

He couldn't execute the move like he wanted, giving Zane that three-way pass for the win at Daytona if that's how it turns out to be a great precision move by Zayn Smith on the bottom, as good a truck as he had Corey. He then came out the yellow flag and then lost this entire following position by getting caught in the middle and headed back to Pit Road. He's now shown in 23rd position, so he's certainly not what they were looking for and it was a tough break for Bono. team led by manion and without a doubt a great performance for him showed that they had a lot of speed in the ability to win this race, we talked about being error free, not coming to Pitt Road ended up costing them uh when they lost the time signal for Opposite the other side of Zane Smith, Chris Lawson, very patient in the first two stages and finally played it perfectly because they established the court position they needed and were in position to take advantage of the mistake that you talked about about that seven-and-a-half team. now. sitting in the catbird seat as he looks to go back-to-back here at Daytona, we'll step aside from the red flag once again at the center of world racing with 21 laps to go and Zane Smith is his leader under the flag red at Daytona so let's take a trip down memory lane 2004 stick The Landing Carl Edwards Bobby Hamilton on the final lap pass Jimmy Spencer takes the win Todd Bodine back to back we know because he told us during our studio production before who's that who It's that 15 truck, look at that smile, it's golden, right?

I don't want to talk about myself, what does everyone think of me? Kyle Busch, big timer, does it in 2014, nothing like Victory Lane Champaign and beer at Daytona Kyle Busch Motorsports 98 all-time wins, I mean it's a remarkable statistic and you know what, when he made the move and left Joe Gibbs Racing and moved to RCR, there was a lot of speculation about what the future of motorsport achieved and if you talk to people associated with it. with the team they say you know he met a lot with Chevy and the people at Chevy will tell you our conversations about the cup level were short, our conversations about the Craftsman Truck series were long and he just talks about who he is and how much he believes in What's going on here would be fun to see in that van in Las Vegas at our next race has that umbrella, right?

Michael, yes, that's his friend right now. I also love that NASCAR 75 logo. Do that too, it's so tight, clean and cool 75 years of NASCAR, especially for those of us who were present for the 50th anniversary. That's right, you and I surely these guys think I believe the end is near as the rain continues to fall. here on the frontstretch, well, a year ago we went to overtime and ran six extra laps and it was Zane Smith who was able to win, he hopes to get paid tonight and even though we didn't reach the scheduled distance. you can take home The Checkered Flag calendar, we'll see if it happens here, it's official.

Zane Smith won the rain-shortened event here in Daytona back-to-back for Zane Smith at the world racing center and he just got the news. We're watching when it absolutely happens there, let's go with Regan, well, Adam, there's a lot of excitement down here. Zane Smith just received the consecutive word at Daytona. How does this feel compared to last year? I know there are about a million ways to get one at Daytona, but we're proving it, so we all wanted to race there again, somehow, to race with good friends of mine, inreality, but hey, we'll take it to Daytona any day we have.

A big shout out to everyone up front or Motorsports, this whole group, man, I said it over and over again, they put in the effort and it shows or proves it, but locked in the playoffs, it's like a repeat of last year you could having carried this umbrella until Sunday. This thing has been like your security blanket. Yes I love it. I love it. We never know what could happen in this Daytona 500. I can't wait for Sunday to arrive. The week just became something special, so I'm just loving life right now. Shane Smith wins the Daytona in 2022, wins the season opener at Daytona, wins the championship and comes here as the reigning champion and has once again claimed victory in this one. special place tell him that smile on his face how special this moment is what he said it's been a dream week here's the schedule for tomorrow we're back here 10 30 a.m.

ET on FS2 that's where we start Cup Series practice and we finish on FS1 at 11. an Xfinity Series qualifier happens at 11:30 a.m. ET Arca race tomorrow afternoon coverage starts at 1 30 here on FS1 and then at five o'clock it's the meat, it's what's for dinner 300. Austin Dillon Ryan Blaney is coming to the stand to say that, his final thoughts on what happened in the Craftsman Truck Series season opener, exciting, exciting, aggressive, everything we would have told viewers they were going to see before that green flag is exactly what we saw, how fun. It was the race and what you mentioned in that and what a smart race Zane Smith ran.

He never really got into position. He had to dodge a couple of incidents, but he really did a good job of seeing that through to the end. Great job. Phil Parsons. Michael Waltrip. Thank you. to the people of Pit Road Jamie Howe, a music man Regan Smith I'm Adam Alexander, congratulations to Zane Smith, win the first game of the season, it's time to play college basketball on FS1