After several trucks wrecked on the final lap of Friday night\u2019s Fresh From Florida 250 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Parker Kligerman was initially declared the winner of the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season opener, which concluded under caution. However, after Kligerman\u2019s truck failed post-race inspection for minimum height requirements, Corey Heim, who had finished second, was declared the race winner.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, it is my first time experiencing this kind of situation either way, so I\u2019m certainly happy to be on the right side of it,\u201d Heim said. \u201cIt sucks for Parker and his team. It seemed like they positioned themselves well to win the race, but obviously, there\u2019s more to it after the race. I\u2019m grateful to be in this position to take advantage of that. Big thanks to everyone at TRICON Garage, Toyota, and Safelite. First win under the Toyota GAZOO Racing banner, so that\u2019s pretty cool. Now, we\u2019ll head to Atlanta and try to get another one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kligerman ultimately finished 36th (last), with his team already announcing plans to appeal the disqualification.<\/p>\n
Heim\u2019s TRICON Garage teammate Giovanni Ruggiero finished second in his Truck Series debut, giving the team a one-two finish. Ruggiero also led 11 laps in the 100-lap race.
\n\u201cIt feels great,\u201d Ruggiero said. \u201cI was hoping for more, but it\u2019s Daytona, and everyone is going for the win. I had a blast tonight. These TRICON Garage Tundras are really fast. The whole team did great. Everything was pretty new for me, especially with live pit stops, but I\u2019m excited for the season and looking forward to Atlanta.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruggiero was one of three drivers to lead double-digit laps. Chandler Smith led a race-high 34 laps, and Ben Rhodes led 22.<\/p>\n
Reigning Truck Series champion Ty Majeski finished third, and Grant Enfinger completed the top five.<\/p>\n
Daniel Hemric took the lead on a lap-46 restart, but Smith was leading when the yellow flag waved for Tyler Ankrum\u2019s blown engine on lap 49. Smith and Hemric battled for the lead before Smith regained control of the position.<\/p>\n
A green-flag pit stop cycle that started on lap 65 was interrupted by a lap-69 caution for Clay Greenfield. Once the stops were completed under yellow, Giovanni became the new race leader.<\/p>\n
Smith regained the lead on lap 79, and Tanner Gray took the lead on a lap-89 restart after a caution on lap 83 for a multi-truck crash involving Matt Crafton, Rajah Caruth, Michael McDowell, Jack Wood, Toni Breidinger, and Nathan Byrd. A lap later, Ruggiero retook the lead.<\/p>\n
Rhodes moved into the lead on lap 96, but after battling Kligerman for the win on the final lap, Rhodes was among the drivers involved in the crash at the end of the race.<\/p>\n
\u201cClark\u2019s, SantaHill Ranch, and ToyonRanch all came on board to support this race. We had an excellent run for them,\u201d Rhodes said. \u201cIt felt like I could take my Ford F-150 anywhere. It was super strong. ThorSport gave me an absolute missile. I could do whatever I needed with it. It all came down to the last 20 seconds. Going into turn three, on the backstretch, I was being pushed really hard. I don\u2019t know. I haven\u2019t seen the replay, but you can only hang on to so much. It\u2019s just physics. The truck gets unloaded, and there\u2019s only so much you can do with the steering wheel. I spun out, but that\u2019s Daytona for you. We\u2019ve led a lot of these races coming to the white flag. I never really get excited until the checkered flag drops, because I\u2019ve lost them in turn two, in turn three, and even at the start-finish line. It\u2019s just how it goes. One day, we\u2019ll get it right and bring this home as we should.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rhodes won the first stage of the season with a victory on lap 20. His ThorSport teammate, Johnny Sauter, was second at the stage\u2019s end.<\/p>\n
Rhodes started the race from the pole, with another teammate, Majeski, beside him on the front row. Rhodes led most of the opening stage.<\/p>\n
Majeski also finished in the top-10 at the end of the first stage.<\/p>\n
After a lap-15 caution for Breidinger, the stage ended with a one-lap, green-flag sprint. Enfinger briefly led on the restart, but Rhodes quickly regained the lead.<\/p>\n
Enfinger led four laps in stage one and was third at the stage\u2019s conclusion.<\/p>\n
The Breidinger caution was the second of the race. The first yellow flag waved on lap five when Kaden Honeycutt spun into the wall after being pushed by Smith.<\/p>\n
Pit strategies varied throughout, with some trucks pitting during each caution. This shuffled the front positions after stage one, with some trucks staying out.<\/p>\n
Rhodes pitted twice for handling improvements after stage one but quickly moved back toward the front.<\/p>\n
Hemric restarted with the lead for stage two. Kligerman also led before Enfinger took the lead on lap 29. Enfinger was among the drivers who pitted after stage one.<\/p>\n
ThorSport drivers were in the top-three at the end of stage two. Crafton won the stage after taking the lead in the final 10 laps. He was followed by teammates Rhodes and Majeski in second and third.<\/p>\n
Smith finished sixth, Hemric seventh, Jason White eighth, William Sawalich ninth, and Frankie Muniz rounded out the top-10.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After several trucks wrecked on the final lap of Friday night\u2019s Fresh From Florida 250 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Parker Kligerman was initially declared the winner of the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season opener, which concluded under caution. However, after Kligerman\u2019s truck failed post-race inspection for minimum height requirements, Corey Heim, who had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[378],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-detroit-lions"],"yoast_head":"\n