Ryan PrittDaytona Beach News-Journal
DAYTONA BEACH — Friday will bring with it the first points-paying race of the NASCAR season and will also see all four series on the track throughout the day.
Obviously, there will be plenty to watch at Daytona International Speedway on Friday with the day culminating in the Fresh From Florida 250, the opener in the Craftsman Truck Series set for a 7:30 p.m. green flag. Qualifying for the event will be held at 3 p.m. after an ARCA Menards Series practice and before practices for the Xfinity and Cup Series.
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One thing is for certain: There will be a new winner of the event this year with two-time defending 250 champ Zane Smith not entered. Smith is set to begin his rookie season in the Cup Series with Spire Motorsports on Sunday. Much more on Spire and other things below.
Since the event was established, some of the biggest names in the sport have won the Truck Series opener, including Carl Edwards (2004), Mark Martin (2006), Michael Waltrip (2011), Kyle Busch (2014) and Tyler Reddick (2015).
Here are five things to watch Friday from Speedweek:
Corey LaJoie running Truck Series opener for 2nd straight year
Spire Motorsports' Corey LaJoie will be the only current full-time Cup Series driver to take part in the Fresh From Florida 250 and it will mark his second straight start in the Truck Series opener at Daytona.
Last year, LaJoie finished 23rd, one of two truck starts on the year. He also finished 16th at Darlington.
LaJoie will be one of three Spire entries in the truck race with Rajah Caruth (71) and Chase Purdy (77) also driving Chevrolets for the organization. A total of 23 Chevrolets were on the preliminary entry list of 39 trucks.
LaJoie will begin his fourth Cup Series season with Spire during the Daytona 500 Sunday and has made 236 starts across eight seasons. All eight of his career top 10s in the Cup Series have come at superspeedways, including four at Daytona.
DeLand's Daniel Dye participating in Xfinity, Truck events
New team. Same number. Bigger expectations.
DeLand's own Daniel Dye will get his second season in the Craftsman Truck Series underway Friday night after signing with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing last September. Dye ran with GMS Racing in his rookie year in the series last year with the organization halting operations after the conclusion of the 2023 season.
Dye will continue to drive the No. 43 truck and will look to take a step forward in terms of results. He registered a lone top-10 finish with a sixth-place run at Talladega in September, finishing 18th in the final points standings.
The 20-year-old will also run in the Xfinity race this weekend after signing on to run 10 races in the Kaulig Racing No. 10 car. Dye is also set to run Xfinity events at Texas (April 13), Dover (April 27), Iowa (June 15), Pocono (July 13), Indianapolis (July 20), Michigan (Aug. 17), Kansas (Sept. 28), Las Vegas (Oct. 19) and Phoenix (Nov. 9).
Ben Rhodes begins title defense, in search of third Truck Series crown
After not finishing higher than seventh in the points standings in his first five seasons in the Craftsman Truck Series, Ben Rhodes has hit his stride, both on the track and in post-championship press conferences.
Rhodes enters the 2024 season as the reigning series champion and has won two of the last three crowns, with a second-place showing sandwiched in between in 2022.
He is also one of three drivers in Friday's field to have won the Fresh From Florida 250 in his career, going to Victory Lane in 2021 to jump start his first title season. Grant Enfinger, the 2020 race winner, is also in the field as is Johnny Sauter, who has the most wins in event history with three.
Ty Dillon gets fresh start in Craftsman Truck Series
For the first time since 2013, Ty Dillon is set to begin a full-time season in the Craftsman Truck Series.
The 31-year-old spent six of the last seven seasons running full time in the Cup Series and made 238 starts in the premier circuit over the past nine years. Dillon has three Truck Series wins to his credit, going to Victory Lane at Atlanta in 2012 and at Kentucky and Texas in 2013.
Xfinity Series and Cup Series practices, ARCA qualifying and race
Friday night's Truck Series race was originally set to cap Friday's on-track proceedings, with qualifying for that event slated for 3 p.m. But, thanks to a gloomy weekend forecast, that suddenly changed on Friday afternoon.
The ARCA Menards Series 200-mile race was moved from Saturday afternoon to late Friday night and is set for an approximate 10:30 p.m. green flag. The race will start after the conclusion of the Truck Series race. As of Friday afternoon, it's the only event on the Speedweek schedule to have moved.
Qualifying for Saturday's ARCA Menards Series opener will start the day at 1:30 p.m. After Truck qualifying will come back-to-back practices, with the Xfinity Series set for a 50-minute session (4:35-5:25) and the Cup Series taking to the track for 50 minutes after that (5:35-4:25).
For Cup Series drivers, it will mark another chance to fine tune after Thursday's BlueGreen Vacation Duel at Daytona races. Friday afternoon will mark the first time Xfinity cars will take to the track.
Daytona Truck Series starting lineup
(* failed to qualify)
- Ty Majeski, No. 98 Ford
- Johnny Sauter, No. 45 Chevrolet
- Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Chevrolet
- Matt Mills, No. 42 Chevrolet
- Tyler Ankrum, No. 18 Chevrolet
- Nick Sanchez, No. 2 Chevrolet
- Daniel Dye, No. 43 Chevrolet
- Tanner Gray, No. 15 Toyota
- Bayley Curry, No. 41 Chevrolet
- Thad Moffitt, No. 46 Chevrolet
- Matt Crafton, No. 88 Ford
- Taylor Gray, No. 17 Toyota
- Toni Breidinger, No. 1 Toyota
- Codie Rohrbaugh, No. 97 Chevrolet
- Dean Thompson, No. 5 Toyota
- Jake Garcia, No. 13 Ford
- Stewart Friesen, No. 52 Toyota
- Chase Purdy, No. 77 Chevrolet
- Bret Holmes, No. 32 Chevrolet
- Rajah Caruth, No. 71 Chevrolet
- Layne Riggs, No. 38 Ford
- Grant Enfinger, No. 9 Chevrolet
- Jack Wood, No. 91 Chevrolet
- Ben Rhodes, No. 99 Ford
- Christian Eckes, No. 19 Chevrolet
- Corey Heim, No. 11 Toyota
- Stefan Parsons, No. 75 Chevrolet
- Ty Dillon, No. 25 Chevrolet
- Bryan Dauzat, No. 28 Chevrolet
- Cory Roper, No. 04 Chevrolet
- Spencer Boyd, No. 76 Chevrolet
- Mason Massey, No. 02 Chevrolet
- Timmy Hill, No. 56 Toyota
- Jason M. White, No. 22 Ford
- Lawless Alan, No. 33 Ford
- Keith McGee, No. 27 Ford
- Mason Maggio, No. 21 Toyota*
- Clay Greenfield, No. 95 Chevrolet*
- Jennifer Jo Cobb, No. 10 Toyota*
- Ryan Huff, No. 36 Toyota*
When is the NASCAR Truck race?
The Fresh From Florida 250 is set to start at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night.
Is the NASCAR Truck race on TV?
The Fresh From Florida 250 will air on FS1.
Fresh From Florida 250 tickets
Tickets to Friday night's Craftsman Truck Series opener are still available at daytonainternationalspeedway.com.
How much do Truck Series tickets cost?
General Admission tickets for the Fresh From Florida 250 are $49 with reserved seating going from $80-105.
Friday's schedule of events
- 1:30 p.m.:ARCA Menards Series qualifying
- 3:Craftsman Truck Series qualifying
- 4:35-5:25:Xfinity Series practice
- 5:35-6:25:Cup Series practice
- 7:30:Craftsman Truck Series, Fresh From Florida 250
- 10:30 (approx.): ARCA Menards Series 200
Daytona Beach weather on Friday
While skies will appear dark and gray, there's only a 6% chance of rain before that turns drastically heading into the weekend. The projected high for Friday is a pleasant 71 degrees with low of 54, so bring sleeves!!
Fresh From Florida 250 winners by year
- 2000: Mike Wallace, No. 2 Ford
- 2001: Joe Ruttman, No. 18 Dodge
- 2002: Robert Pressley, No. 18 Dodge
- 2003: Rick Crawford, No. 14 Ford
- 2004: Carl Edwards, No. 99 Ford
- 2005: Bobby Hamilton, No. 04 Dodge
- 2006: Mark Martin, No. 6 Ford
- 2007: Jack Sprague, No. 60 Toyota
- 2008: Todd Bodine, No. 30 Toyota
- 2009: Todd Bodine, No. 30 Toyota
- 2010: Timothy Peters, No. 17 Toyota
- 2011: Michael Waltrip, No. 15 Toyota
- 2012: John King, No. 7 Toyota
- 2013: Johnny Sauter, No. 98 Toyota
- 2014: Kyle Busch, No. 51 Toyota
- 2015: Tyler Reddick, No. 19 Ford
- 2016: Johnny Sauter, No. 21 Chevrolet
- 2017: Kaz Grala, No. 33 Chevrolet
- 2018: Johnny Sauter, No. 21 Chevrolet
- 2019: Austin Hill, No. 16 Toyota
- 2020: Grant Enfinger, No. 98 Ford
- 2021: Ben Rhodes, No. 99 Toyota
- 2022: Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford
- 2023: Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford
