NASCAR Truck Series at Daytona 2015 Results: Winner, Standings and Reaction
In the first points race of the season in any NASCAR series, Tyler Reddick won the NextEra Energy Resources 250 in Daytona. The win was the 19-year-old's first in the Camping World Truck Series on the most illustrious track in the sport.
NASCAR Trucks passed along the final result from the race on Friday night:
".@TylerReddick for the win! pic.twitter.com/27N7ovPMHN
— NASCAR Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) February 21, 2015"
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Reddick finished last season strong, but was never able to capture a victory last season. He was pushed at the end by Brad Keselowski Racing teammate Austin Theriault to barely beat out Erik Jones.
"It feels amazing, I can't express how happy I am," Reddick said after the race on the Fox Sports 1 broadcast. "My team was great all night. ... My teammate, I wouldn't be here without Austin. He was awesome. He helped push me at the end."
Keselowski congratulated his driver following the win:
Both Keselowski teammates got off to resounding start to the season, but Jones was also impressive. The 18-year-old driver has already won four races in the series and will be a contender all year for Kyle Busch Motorsports.
Here's a look at the full results and standings following the season opener.
| 1 | Tyler Reddick |
| 2 | Erik Jones |
| 3 | Scott Lagasse Jr. |
| 4 | Austin Theriault |
| 5 | Ray Black Jr. |
| 6 | David Gilliland |
| 7 | Bryan Silas |
| 8 | Matt Crafton |
| 9 | Daniel Suarez |
| 10 | Johnny Sauter |
| 11 | Ty Dillon |
| 12 | Korbin Forrister |
| 13 | Tyler Young |
| 14 | Norm Benning |
| 15 | Travis Kvapil |
| 16 | Ryan Ellis |
| 17 | James Buescher |
| 18 | Jennifer Joe Cobb |
| 19 | Matt Tifft |
| 20 | Joe Nemechek |
| 21 | Spencer Gallagher |
| 22 | John Wes Townley |
| 23 | Cameron Hayley |
| 24 | Timothy Peters |
| 25 | Chris Fontaine |
| 26 | Daniel Hemric |
| 27 | Todd Peck |
| 28 | Ben Kennedy |
| 29 | Justin Boston |
| 30 | Austin Hill |
| 31 | Donnie Neuenberger |
| 32 | Justin Marks |
| 1 | Tyler Reddick | 48 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Erik Jones | 42 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | Austin Theriault | 41 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | Ray Black Jr. | 39 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | Bryan Silas | 37 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | Matt Crafton | 37 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | Johnny Sauter | 34 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | Korbin Forrister | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Tyler Young | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Norm Benning | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The night started off with no issues through the first 10 laps, but it wouldn't last long. Ty Dillon started from the pole and paced the field for 22 of the first 23 laps, but an early wreck behind him would halt that strong charge.
Multiple drivers were involved, including Austin Hill and veteran Joe Nemechek. Fox Sports 1 passed along the breakdown of the accident:
Nemechek has been driving for over 20 seasons in NASCAR, but will pass the torch over to John Hunter Nemechek, his son, later this season. The younger Nemechek won't turn 18 until June 11, so he can't race a full-time schedule in the Chevrolet truck.
More clean racing followed the first wreck, with Dillon and Reddick trading off the lead. Reddick constantly challenged for the lead before the lead pack went to single-car racing and Dillon sat up at the front.
On Lap 48, everything went wrong.
The Big One collected myriad trucks, including Ben Kennedy, Timothy Peters and Jennifer Jo Cobb. Peters, who lost to Kyle Busch last season in a photo finish, was involved in an accident during qualifying and was charging from the final position to reach the top 15.
Fox Sports: NASCAR passed along what the carnage looked like:
Geoffrey Miller of Athlon Sports also provided a visual of John Wes Townley's truck:
Following the accident, just 16 trucks remained on the lead lap out of the 32 that started the night. Though it ended the night for nearly half the field, one of NASCAR's officials did leave the fans with a memorable moment. Nascarcasm passed along one official attempting to, um, fan the flames?
A strong showing from Dillon sets the stage for the remainder of his weekend. The younger brother of Austin Dillon qualified for the Daytona 500 on Thursday night and is a title contender in the Xfinity Series. Though he didn't pull out the win, he has a lot to race for over the next two days.
On the other hand, the win sets the tone for Reddick's season. Just like every other series, the Daytona race is always the most special, but the rest of the year is just as important to win a championship.
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