NextEra Energy Resources 250 Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service With a gaggle of trucks wrecking behind him as the field approached the finish line, Ben Rhodes shot past Cory Roper in the tri-oval at Daytona International Speedway to win Friday night’s NextEra Energy 250, the 2021 season-opener for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. With a decisive push from ThorSport Racing teammate Matt Crafton on the final lap of an overtime shootout, Rhodes had more than enough momentum to charge past Roper in the final 400 yards. Likewise, Jordan Anderson blew past RoperRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – After coming within inches of scoring his first career win in the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Series, one would expect Jordan Anderson to be disappointed to have come so close only to have to settle for a runner-up finish instead. But it was exactly the opposite for the Forest Acres, South Carolina native after he climbed from his No. 3 Chevrolet following a photo finish Friday night at Daytona International Speedway. “You don’t get the opportunity to go for the winRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Niece Motorsport’s Natalie Decker was grinning widely before she even arrived at the many microphones and reporters ready to interview the Wisconsin driver following her historical run in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series season-opener Friday night at Daytona International Speedway. Decker, 22, of Eagle River, Wisc., finished fifth in Friday’s NextEra Energy 250 – the highest ever finish for a female driver in series history; a fact that even she wasn’t aware of when she first approachedRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – ThorSport Racing came to Daytona locked and loaded with five bullets aimed toward a victory in the season opener. By the time all was said and done, they were left with just two, as Grant Enfinger and Matt Crafton both delivered top-five finishes on the night. Surviving a marathon crashfest that featured 11 cautions and stretched the race into two overtime periods, Enfinger and Crafton, both of whom had never won at Daytona, seemed to be in the catbird seat to finallyRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It was the race of a lifetime for Puyallup, Washington’s Angela Ruch, who dealt with an overheating truck and going down a cylinder throughout Friday night’s NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona, to finish eighth in just her second NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series start, becoming the second ever woman to score a top-10 in the series. Perhaps more special about Ruch’s performance was the support from NEMCO Motorsports and Kaulig Racing’s Chris Rice, who gave her the opportunity to run theRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Lap 54 was the moment an intense NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway turned into a nightmare for 11 drivers, including Jordan Anderson, who’s predicament is worse than most considering the circumstances of his own team. Coming off Turn 3, Anderson, who was running on the bottom, was drafting with Cory Roper and running inside the top-five until he began bottoming out and the rest of the draft caught up to him. As the field bunched up, Anderson was losingRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – At the end of the 2018 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series season, Grant Enfinger was one of the stronger drivers on the tour with a win at Las Vegas and fifth-place points finish, which was the highest among the Ford camp. Now entering Friday’s NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway, ThorSport Racing’s top points finisher hopes to build their stride they began building after losing out to Chase Briscoe at the Eldora Dirt Derby last August. Enfinger stated that from thatRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – ThorSport Racing’s Ben Rhodes is entering his fourth season in the NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series, and once again, changes are the norm with his team as they went through a complete overhaul, including another number change. No longer its the No. 41 Ford F-150, which upset some fans as it’s now the No. 99 instead. All thanks to an initiative by owner Duke Thorson to maintain continuity on his five-truck operation. Rhodes told Motorsports Tribune that at a young age, heRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Former NextEra Energy Resources 250 winner Timothy Peters will start off the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series with a ride at Niece Motorsports. Last fall’s Talladega winner will pilot the No. 44 Chevrolet Silverado in the opening three races of the season (Daytona, Atlanta and Las Vegas). Additionally, Friends of Jaclyn Foundation will sponsor the 11-time series winner’s truck, with a goal of bringing awareness and improving children’s lives who are battling pediatric brain tumor and other childhood cancers. Adopt-A-Child, Safe on the Sidelines and GuardianRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In a race that produced seven cautions for 35 laps and left 21 trucks running at the finish, Johnny Sauter held off Justin Haley by .098 seconds at Daytona International Speedway to win Friday night’s NextEra Energy Resources 250, the season-opener for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Sauter grabbed the lead from pole winner David Gilliland on Lap 92 of 100 and stayed out front the rest of the way. The victory was Sauter’s third at Daytona and 18thRead More