Friday will bring with it the first points-paying race of the NASCAR season and will also see all four series on the track throughout the day. Obviously, there will be plenty to watch at Daytona International Speedway on Friday with the day culminating in the Fresh From Florida 250, the opener in the Craftsman Truck Series set for a 7:30 p.m. green flag. Qualifying for the event will be held at 3 p.m. after an ARCA Menards Series practice and before practices for the Xfinity and Cup Series.
One thing is for certain: there will be a new winner of the event this year with two-time defending 250 champ Zane Smith not entered. Smith is set to begin his rookie season in the Cup Series with Spire Motorsports on Sunday.
Since the event was established, some of the biggest names in the sport have won the Truck Series opener, including Carl Edwards (2004), Mark Martin (2006), Michael Waltrip (2011), Kyle Busch (2014) and Tyler Reddick (2015).
Corey LaJoie running Truck Series opener for 2nd straight year
Spire Motorsports’ Corey LaJoie will be the only current full-time Cup Series driver to take part in the Fresh From Florida 250 and it will mark his second straight start in the Truck Series opener at Daytona. Last year, LaJoie finished 23rd, one of two truck starts on the year. He also finished 16th at Darlington. LaJoie will be one of three Spire entries in the truck race with Rajah Caruth (71) and Chase Purdy (77) also driving Chevrolets for the organization. A total of 23 Chevrolets were on the preliminary entry list of 39 trucks. LaJoie will begin his fourth Cup Series season with Spire during the Daytona 500 Sunday and has made 236 starts across eight seasons. All eight of his career top 10s in the Cup Series have come at superspeedways, including four at Daytona.
DeLand’s Daniel Dye participating in Xfinity, Truck events
DeLand’s own Daniel Dye will get his second season in the Craftsman Truck Series underway Friday night after signing with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing last September. Dye ran with GMS Racing in his rookie year in the series last year with the organization halting operations after the conclusion of the 2023 season. Dye will continue to drive the No. 43 truck and will look to take a step forward in terms of results. He will also be participating in the Xfinity events.
