NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series always provides exciting racing throughout the season, and the season opener at Daytona International Speedway is never a disappointment. Last season, John King came out of nowhere, missed the wreckage and ended up in victory lane in the NextEra Energy Resources 250. Will this season’s race produced a surprise winner, or will a veteran come through for the win? Check out these drivers during the race on Friday, February 22nd.
- James Buescher – the reigning Camping World Truck Series champ won his first Nationwide Series race last year at Daytona – now he wants to add a Truck Series trophy to the mantel. In Trucks last season Buescher finished 17th at Daytona; in 2011 for Turner Scott Motorsports, he picked up a ninth-place finish.
- Todd Bodine – Chemung, New York native and two-time winner at Daytona Bodine lost his ride with Red Horse Racing due to sponsorship woes, but he picked up a ride with ThorSport for Daytona, driving the No. 13 Mattei Air Compressors Toyota Tundra as teammate to Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter. Bodine has seven top 10 finishes – including the back-to-back wins in 2008 and 2009 – in eight Daytona Truck starts.
- Joey Coulter – Coulter won his first race last season at the 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway, and this season moves from Richard Childress Racing to Kyle Busch Motorsports. He’s had a rough time at Daytona, finishing 34th and 18th in his first two races there, but he started in the top 10 both times. Team owner Busch finished fifth in this truck in last year’s race.
- Ty Dillon – in his first career Truck race at Daytona last season, the younger Dillon qualified fourth and finished ninth. With a full season behind him, he can only get better.
- Ryan Blaney – a surprise winner at Iowa in 2012, young Blaney has not raced at Daytona, and will be behind the wheel of one of Brad Keselowski Racing’s Fords. He proved to be a quick learner last season, and could be the surprise of this year’s Daytona event.
The Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250 takes the green flag Friday, February 22nd at 7:30 p.m. ET on SPEED. Stay up-to-date on the Truck Series at www.nascar.com.
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