This past Friday night, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series took to the high banks of Daytona International Speedway for their first event of the 2025 season. With Ben Rhodes on the pole alongside his ThorSport Racing teammate and defending Champion, Ty Makeski, the 2025 season kicked off with a bang, including a feel-good story turned into a nightmare for a smaller team. Here’s a recap of the Fresh From Florida 250 and the significant highlights from the weekend.
With the Green Flag dropping just after 7:30PM EST, Rhodes drove to the bottom lane going into Turn 1, in front of veteran Grant Enfinger at the start. After just a lap, Clay Greenfield was shoved into the apron going into Turn 1, but was able to rebound and keep the truck clean. The first major incident took place on Lap 3, as Niece Motorsports phenom, Kaden Honeycutt got loose coming out of Turn 4 and slammed the inside SAFER barrier, ending his night early. Honeycutt apologized to his team, as the aging track proved handling would be a factor all night.
The night continued with series veteran, Matt Crafton having power issues during the first stage, letting his team know of this problem. With six-to-go in the stage, Toni Breidinger slammed the inside of the Turn 4 wall once again, in the same spot as Honeycutt. She took her Toyota Tundra down pit road and was able to continue on with cosmetic damage. Stage 1 ended in a one-lap shoutout, with Ben Rhodes winning and collecting 10 points, along with a Playoff Point.
Stage 2 saw Cup Series veteran, Daniel Hemric take the lead, prior to his Billy McAnally Racing teammate, Tyler Ankrum having an engine blow at the halfway point, effectively ending his night. Rookie driver, Dawson Sutton lost control of his Rackley W.A.R Chevrolet, as Ankrum’s smoking vehicle blinded Sutton and likely left oil on the racing surface.
The race resumed on Lap 56, with Daniel Hemric and Chandler Smith battling it out for the lead. Smith came to play and made a lot of bold moves while charging to the front, with teammate Layne Riggs helping him out in every lane.
With 29 laps to go, Clay Greenfield found his way to the inside SAFER Barrier in the exact same spot as Breidinger and Honeycutt earlier in the night, also ending his race.
When the Green Flag came back out on Lap 71, Michael McDowell, who was making a rare start in the series, displayed a lot of speed with his Spire Motorsports teammates, Rajah Caruth and Justin Haley following his lead. An accident involving McDowell, Jack Wood, Breidinger and Rhodes ensued with 18-to-go, due to a bad push in the middle of the pack. Also collected in this wreck was Caruth, whose day ended after slamming into the inside wall on the Backstretch.
On the next restart, Tricon Garage’s Gio Ruggiero, who happened to also be making his NCTS debut, showed a lot of strength and speed up front, despite this being his first race on the high banks of Daytona. Ruggiero held his own and kept the Truck in one piece, as Smith and Enfinger challenged him for the lead in the closing laps of the race, shuffling Ruggiero to the middle of the pack. Also up front were Ruggiero’s teammate, Tanner Gray, ThorSport Racing driver, Jake Garcia and three-time NCTS winner, Parker Kligerman, a driver who’s made Henderson Motorsports his second home, outside the broadcast booth.
With two laps to go, Kligerman found Gray on his bumper in the outside lane, with Rhodes and Riggs on the outside. Rhodes received a bad push and was sent crashing into the pack, prompting NASCAR to throw the caution out. Kligerman was the leader at the time of caution, with series veteran, Corey Heim on his tail. Kligerman initially emerged as the winner and celebrated with his team on the Frontstretch. However, an hour after, NASCAR disqualified Kligerman due to his vehicle not passing post-race inspection, giving the win to Corey Heim. Kligerman was credited with a last-place finish, but Henderson Motorsports is currently in the process of appealing this decision.
Exiting Daytona, Corey Heim has the points lead, with Ty Majeski three points behind him in second. This weekend’s Fr8 208 takes place at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which is the site of Heim’s first career NCTS win, back in 2022, so expect Heim to contend for another win (pending Henderson and Kligerman’s appeal), to go back-to-back to open the season. You can catch the Fr8 208 this Saturday, February 22 at 1:30 PM EST on FS1.
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