NASCAR Truck Series: Zane Smith wins at Daytona, Nemechek has a day
By Bob Pockrass
FOX Sports NASCAR Writer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Zane Smith got a perfectly timed push from Parker Kligerman to take the lead and then got a perfectly timed caution to seal the victory in the Camping World Truck Series opener on Friday at Daytona International Speedway.
Zane Smith holds off hard-charging pack in OT for the win
Smith was making his debut for Front Row Motorsports after spending the two previous years at GMS Racing.
"Especially with my past two years here, having a shot at the very end but not working out," Smith said. "I never thought I would be in victory lane in Daytona, but pretty dang cool."
Here are three takeaways from the Truck Series opener at Daytona:
Long offseason for Smith
For Smith, getting the win in the season opener could help him put behind any lingering frustration from last year.
Smith finished second in the series finale at Phoenix each of the past two years, coming up just a spot short of the championship.
"That stuff will always scar you," he said. "I guess I’m going in with the mindset that the third time is a charm. This is as good as you can start out a year."
Nemechek has a day
John Hunter Nemechek, who won five truck races last year, swept both stages and led 50 of the 106 laps Friday night but couldn’t capitalize, as he was involved in the big wreck coming to the white flag.
"I worked my butt off last year studying, and I feel like it’s paid off," Nemechek said. "We won both stages and put ourselves in the right position at the end."
None of the drivers involved in the 10-truck accident seemed miffed over the wreck, which they attributed to the dynamic of racing at Daytona.
"I was committed to pushing the 16 [of Tyler Ankrum] — I was square offset to the right of him, and then I think the 98 [of Grant Enfinger] came up to block a little bit, and it might have been a little bit too late," Nemechek said.
"The 16 kind of moved up, and in the trioval, the trucks get light, and it seemed like when the 98 came up and kind of pinched him up, and then all of a sudden, it turned him sideways. So it's Daytona — we're here pushing, we're trying to win the race, you're coming to the white flag."
NASCAR makes calls
NASCAR typically has to make pivotal calls at Daytona, and the first major points race of the weekend did test race control.
That 10-truck accident came just as the trucks approached the start-finish line to take the white flag. If the leader had hit the start-finish line to start the final lap, the race would have ended under caution.
NASCAR reviewed film from its start-finish camera to make that call.
NASCAR then had to make a call in the overtime portion of the race, throwing the caution shortly after the leaders took the white flag, as a truck had hit hard nose-first into the wall, which NASCAR felt necessitated a caution to dispatch safety equipment in case of driver injury.
The caution froze the field with Smith as the leader.
Bob Pockrass has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s. He joined FOX Sports in 2019 following stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @bobpockrass. Looking for more NASCAR content? Sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass!
