Ten years to the day from his first victory in the Daytona 500, Michael Waltrip made a slingshot pass of Elliott Sadler at the end of a green-white-checkered-flag finish Friday night to win the NextEra Energy Resources 250 Camping World Truck Series race at Daytona International Speedway.
The victory in the season opener, which went three laps past its scheduled distance of 100 laps, was Waltrip’s first in the Truck Series.
It also was the 10th anniversary of the death of Dale Earnhardt, who owned the car Waltrip drove to his 2001 Daytona 500 victory. Waltrip is racing in all three of NASCAR’s top touring series this weekend, and he decaled his truck and cars to honor Earnhardt. NASCAR.com
“I’m just so thankful,” said a tearful Waltrip in Victory Lane. “It feels really good.”
“This day was hard,” Waltrip said. “I’ve been emotional all day long. I’d see one buddy and we’d laugh about what we used to do with Dale, and I’d see another buddy and we’d cry about it. But I knew when the raced started it would take over.”
“I wanted to be able to tell people I was here in honor of Dale,” Waltrip said. “I believe everything happens for a reason. Somebody said, ‘I can’t believe it has been 10 years.’ Well, I can. I live it every day.” Orlando Sentinel
Clay Rogers finished third, Miguel Paludo—a rookie this season—and Busch rounded out the top-five.
Jennifer Jo Cobb took the sixth spot, followed by Earnhardt’s 21-year-old grandson, Jeffrey. Ricky Carmichael was eighth, James Buescher ninth, and Matt Crafton 10th.
Buescher led for most of the first half, as drivers ran single file to get more familiar with Daytona’s newly paved surface. MiamiHerald.com
“I went to Victory Lane to congratulate him,” Sadler said, “and I said to Michael, ‘If anyone deserves to win a race today, you do.’ “
The race remained caution-free until Lap 37 when Miami Springs rookie Joey Coulter blew a tire and hit the outside wall.
The 250-miler at Daytona featured two major accidents in the late stages of the race.
The first big crash occurred three-quarters of the way into the race. Travis Kvapil, the 2003 truck titleholder, blew his left rear tire and backed into the wall between turns three and four, creating an accordion effect.
The second pileup occurred in the closing laps, involving 10 drivers. Brad Sweet got loose and turned sideways in the middle of a tight pack of trucks, triggering the melee along the frontstretch. MiamiHerald.com
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NASCAR Truck Series: NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona - Race Results
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