Gio Ruggiero Finishes Second in Truck Series Debut at Daytona

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer/Photographer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It’s one thing for an 18-year-old driver making the jump to NASCAR’s national touring level, but it’s a whole different beast when your Craftsman Truck Series debut is at the Daytona International Speedway.

That’s what Gio Ruggiero faced to kick off his bid for Rookie of the Year honors in Friday’s Fresh from Florida 250 and definitely made his presence known by leading 11 laps to cross the line in third.

Ruggiero would later be promoted to second following the disqualification from race winner Parker Kligerman.

In the closing laps, Ruggiero was up front but a young man’s inexperience can strike at any time and the TRICON Garage racer faced that moment that affected his chance of winning in his Truck Series debut.

After the race, Ruggiero definitely learned that sometimes a little help can evaporate in a heartbeat.

“Stuff happens quick here. I was leading that pack for a couple laps, and I think five or six to go is when I lost the lead there,” said Ruggiero. “I knew it was coming, and I knew they were going to have lines forming up and that it was going to get crazy. I’m just glad we could hang on and have a strong finish and a good truck there for the end.”

Ruggiero was able to keep his No. 17 JBL Toyota Tundra mostly out of trouble to score a top-five. Above all else, the rookie had a blast navigating around the 2.5-mile superspeedway despite a series of cautions breeding cautions throughout the night.

“It feels good. Was looking for more there. But it’s Daytona and everybody is trying to win,” said Ruggiero. “I had a blast tonight. These TRICON Garage Tundras are so fast. The whole team performed really well. Everything is pretty new for me doing live pit stops and all but I’m looking forward to the season and looking forward to Atlanta.”

From one superspeedway circuit to the next, the Truck Series is just getting their 2025 season rolling as they’ll head to Atlanta Motor Speedway. Live coverage of the Fr8 208 begins Saturday, February 22 at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1.