Date: Feb. 16, 2018
Event: NextEra Energy Resources 250 (Race 1 of 23)
Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Raceway (2.5-mile Tri-oval)
Format: Three Segments; 20 laps/20 laps/60 laps
Start/Finish: 8th / 7th (running, completed 100 of 100 laps)
Winner: Johnny Sauter of GMS Racing (Chevrolet)
Spencer Davis made his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut Friday night in the No. 51 JBL/SiriusXM Tundra and with patience and perseverance, earned a seventh-place finish in his first start. He was the highest finishing Toyota in the race.
Stage One Recap:
- Starting from the eighth position, Davis hung in the top 10 for most of the first 20-lap stage. He got the feel of the draft, was happy with his Tundra’s handling and finished stage one in 11th He pitted for fuel only on lap 22.
Stage Two Recap:
- Davis started the next 20-lap stage in seventh. Once again, he was patient and remained in the top 10. He ended stage two in 10th On lap 43 he pitted for right-side tires and fuel.
Stage Three Recap:
- Davis was 10th for the restart on lap 47, and was up to fourth within a few laps. The final stage was filled with multi-truck accidents and Davis was nearly included in one on lap 73 when John Hunter Nemechek’s tire exploded right in front of Davis’ Tundra. He was able to avoid the wreck and restarted sixth.
- With 13 laps to go, Davis lined up fourth behind KBM teammate, David Gilliland. Davis pushed him to the front, but with seven laps to go Davis accidentally got Gilliland loose, which sent the No. 4 into the outside wall.
- With five laps to go, Davis was scored in fifth, but was shuffled back to ninth coming to the white flag. In a crazy final lap, Davis finished the race seventh despite taking a ride through the tri-oval grass.
SPENCER DAVIS, driver of the No. 51 JBL/SiriusXM Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports:
How was your race tonight?
“The big word coming into this weekend was patience and it showed. We rode around on the bottom and stayed out of trouble and just tried to make it to the end. I was in a real good position there with David Gilliland out in front of me and unfortunately, we were pushing hard and he got loose right there, which kind of sucked because I needed my teammate right there. From that point, I tried to just side draft and had Ben Rhodes pushing me. As soon as they all bailed I kind of got screwed and pushed to the back. We had some trouble on the final lap, but came out of here with a top-10 finish of seventh. I’m super happy about that.”
NextEra Energy Resources 250 Recap:
- Johnny Sauter won the race, followed by Justin Haley, Joe Nemechek, Ben Rhodes and Scott Lagasse Jr., rounded out the top-five finishers.
- The race featured seven cautions for a total of 35 laps. There were 21 lead changes among 10 drivers. Gilliland led six times for 30 laps and KBM’s Noah Gragson led once for one lap.
How Davis’ KBM Teammates Fared:
- David Gilliland, driver of the No. 4 Toyota, finished 21st
- Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 18 Toyota, finished 23rd
NCWTS Owner Championship Standings:
The No. 51 team leaves the first race of the season ranked ninth in the Truck Series Owner’s Championship Standings, 28 points out of first.
Next Race:
Davis will be behind the wheel of the No. 51 Rheem Tundra when the Truck Series returns to action February 24 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga. Live coverage of the Active Pest Control 200 begins at 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
