DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – After a wild night that saw many crazy saves, an overtime finish, and a mini-controversy involving the timing of a late caution, Zane Smith prevailed above the competition to win the NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway Friday night.
The win was Smith’s fourth of his career in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the first win driving for his new team at Front Row Motorsports.
Initially, it looked as though fortune was against the 22-year-old Californian. Smith was in the lead mere feet from the finish line to start the last lap when a 19-truck crash unfolded behind him, littering the tri-oval with debris.
However, during overtime, Smith got a huge push from Parker Kligerman in the outside lane around Christian Eckes and held on to take the win when another crash behind him brought out the yellow flag on the last lap.
“It’s something else, man,” Smith said of winning at Daytona. “This place is its own, I’ll tell you that. Literally my heart hurt during that red flag. I thought we had it.
“Just hats off to this whole group,” Smith said of his new Ford-backed team. “They’ve really put the work in and it’s so damn cool to see when it pays off. Man, this is going to be a really fun year and I’m going to try and make it a record year for myself.”
Defending series champion Ben Rhodes finished second, followed by his teammate Eckes. Former NHRA champion Tanner Gray was fourth and Kligerman rounded out the top five.
Kligerman, who was the last driver to qualify on speed, was joyous at the result for himself and the underfunded Henderson Motorsports team, an operation with only one full-time employee.
“This is just huge to get this momentum,” said Kligerman, a part-time driver who also works for NBC Sports on their NASCAR coverage as a broadcaster. “It’s just such an honor. I’m so grateful to have the chance to just show up here, let alone go out there and compete and reel off a top five. We’re just firing on all cylinders.”
John Hunter Nemechek was the dominant driver on the night, leading a race-high 50 laps and sweeping the first two stages from the outside of the front row. However, he was one of the many drivers caught in the big one late and settled for 24th.
Polesitter Ty Majeski led 21 laps en route to a seventh-place finish, while former Cup series veteran Matt DiBenedetto finished 10th in his series debut.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will return on March 4 for the second race of the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.