DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — As trucks fanned out four-wide behind him, Tyler Reddick took the first checkered flag of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Friday night’s NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway.
Behind the race winner, Erik Jones charged to the outside to grab the runner-up spot, followed by Scott Lagasse Jr. and Fort Kent native Austin Theriault, Reddick’s Brad Keselowski Racing teammate.
A massive wreck on Lap 49 of 100 wiped out a third of the field, but the two Brad Keselowski Racing trucks managed to stay out of harm’s way by remaining up front for the majority of the race.
By the time the hood flew up on Bryan Silas’ No. 99 Chevrolet, covered the windshield and forced the truck to pit road, there were 13 trucks on the lead lap, with Reddick and Theriault in the top two spots.
Silas returned to the track without the hood, but on Lap 85 the air cleaner dislodged from the top of the engine, landed on the racing surface and caused the fifth caution of the evening.
Reddick and Theriault paced the field to a restart on Lap 89 and held the top two spots until Ryan Ellis’ Chevy slowed on the track and caused the sixth caution with eight laps remaining, setting up the scramble to the finish at the end.