Kyle Busch (51) beats Timothy Peters (17) to the finish line to win Friday night’s Camping World Truck Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway. Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
Kyle Busch made history at Daytona International Raceway on Friday night, becoming the first driver to score a victory at the track in four different major touring series with a win in the season opening event for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Busch beat out Timothy Peters with a perfectly timed last-lap pass to score his 36th-career series victory in the closest truck finish in Daytona history. Peters held off Johnny Sauter for third, followed by Ryan Truex and Ron Hornaday, Jr.
Busch led 25 of 100 laps but won out by less than foot at the line, with a margin of victory of just .016 seconds – the eighth-closest ever in a truck series race.
“I just kind of threw a Hail Mary out there and see if my truck was faster than (Peters),” said Busch. “Luckily it happened, it worked, the timing was good, we made it to the start/finish line first. All circumstances played out in our favor and it just sort of worked
“I thought (Peters) did everything he needed to do. If anything, he was just a little slow at blocking me to the outside. That was it.”
After scoring his first truck series victory at Daytona, Busch becomes the first driver to score Daytona a win in ARCA, Nationwide, Sprint Cup and truck series.
“I got all four. This is the one that was eluding me,” said Busch. “I’ve been trying for years to get the fourth and finally got the fourth here with the trucks. I’d love to be a Daytona 500 winner.”
The truck series race certainly lived up to its reputation as one of the most thrilling events of Speedweeks.
After a nearly one-hour delay for rain, Ben Kennedy – the great-grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr. – led the field to the green flag and led the first 52 laps before a pit road miscue cost him the top spot as Busch cycled to the front after a round of pit stops.
Back under green, Busch and Peters would trade the lead for the 24 laps until a multi-truck crash on lap 75 when Ross Chastain and Parker Kligerman got together in turn two, eventually collecting 17 trucks.
After another round of pit stops, Busch regained the top spot and led the next 16 laps with the top five running nose to tail in a single-file freight train.
Peters, mired back in 10th place, mounted a charge to the front with seven laps to go, pulling a train of his own on the outside with help from Truex and Hornaday while Busch and Sauter led the parade on the low side.
With five laps to go, Peters pulled even with Busch and dropped down in front just past the start finish line to take the lead.
With Truex and Hornaday continuing to work the high side, Peters desperately tried to block and hold off Busch, opening up one truck-length lead over the final lap.
Coming off turn four on the final lap, Busch turned his Toyota Tundra hard to the outside and side-drafted even with Peters, who tried to block but had to go low to hold off Sauter, giving Busch just enough momentum to edge Peters at the line.
It was an all too familiar scene for Peters, who used a last-lap pass to beat out Todd Bodine in the 2010 series opener.
“It was so close,” said Peters. “I was trying to back up a little bit to him (Kyle Busch), but it was just like Johnny Sauter gave him a really good shove coming through (turns) three and four.
“You never want to be the bridesmaid when you know you went to victory lane here before, but second-place at Daytona isn’t too bad.”
Sauter’s third-place showing gave him his second-straight top-five Daytona finish after starting out the 2013 season winning the series first two events.
“It was pretty wild,” said Sauter. “I just wasn’t in a position to get a run. I was committed to Kyle (Busch) no matter what. The 32 (Ryan Truex) was just enough on the outside of me and with a truck on the outside it just bogs you down and we didn’t have momentum.”
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Daytona International Speedway – Daytona Beach, FL
NextEra Energy Resources 250 – February 21, 2014
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1. (7) Kyle Busch(i), Toyota, 100, $70870.
2. (18) Timothy Peters, Toyota, 100, $52260.
3. (9) Johnny Sauter, Toyota, 100, $37226.
4. (14) Ryan Truex(i), Chevrolet, 100, $27700.
5. (2) Ron Hornaday Jr., Chevrolet, 100, $23050.
6. (3) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 100, $18925.
7. (11) Jeb Burton, Toyota, 100, $17625.
8. (13) Joe Nemechek(i), Toyota, 100, $14375.
9. (30) Jimmy Weller III, Chevrolet, 100, $15625.
10. (23) German Quiroga, Toyota, 100, $15900.
11. (12) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 100, $14525.
12. (10) Tyler Reddick #, Ford, 100, $15350.
13. (4) Matt Crafton, Toyota, 100, $15250.
14. (6) John Wes Townley, Toyota, 100, $11875.
15. (1) Ben Kennedy #, Chevrolet, 100, $14650.
16. (32) Justin Jennings, Chevrolet, 100, $11775.
17. (25) Bryan Silas, Chevrolet, 100, $13720.
18. (34) Ryan Ellis(i), Chevrolet, 100, $11350.
19. (27) Chris Fontaine, Toyota, 100, $11250.
20. (36) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, 100, $14025.
21. (35) Jennifer Jo Cobb, Chevrolet, 98, $11050.
22. (28) Travis Kvapil, Chevrolet, 95, $10950.
23. (19) John King, Chevrolet, 87, $13075.
24. (33) Michael Disdier, Chevrolet, 83, $12950.
25. (26) Brennan Newberry, Chevrolet, 81, $13000.
26. (16) Darrell Wallace Jr., Toyota, Accident, 76, $12750.
27. (29) Caleb Holman, Chevrolet, Accident, 74, $10350.
28. (22) Mason Mingus #, Toyota, Accident, 73, $11250.
29. (15) Parker Kligerman(i), Toyota, Accident, 73, $10150.
30. (8) Ross Chastain, Ford, Accident, 73, $10550.
31. (20) Sean Corr, Ford, Accident, 73, $10000.
32. (5) Joey Coulter, Chevrolet, Accident, 73, $10950.
33. (21) Brian Ickler, Toyota, Accident, 73, $9900.
34. (17) Tyler Young, Chevrolet, Accident, 73, $9845.
35. (24) Chris Cockrum, Chevrolet, Accident, 73, $9790.
36. (31) Jason White(i), Chevrolet, Engine, 45, $9703.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 142.631 mph.
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 45 Mins, 10 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.016 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 4 for 19 laps.
Lead Changes: 8 among 4 drivers.
Lap Leaders: B. Kennedy # 1-52; K. Busch(i) 53-57; T. Peters 58-59; K. Busch(i) 60-62; T. Peters 63-76; T. Kvapil 77-79; K. Busch(i) 80-95; T. Peters 96-99; K. Busch(i) 100;.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): B. Kennedy # 1 time for 52 laps; K. Busch(i) 4 times for 25 laps; T. Peters 3 times for 20 laps; T. Kvapil 1 time for 3 laps.
Top 10 in Points: T. Peters – 43; J. Sauter – 41; R. Hornaday Jr. – 39; R. Blaney – 38; J. Burton – 37; J. Weller Iii – 35; G. Quiroga – 34; R. Sieg – 33; T. Reddick # – 32; M. Crafton – 31.
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