Johnny Sauter wasted absolutely no time getting re-acclimated to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, after more than nine months away from the series, putting his No. 45 IEDA / Niece Equipment Chevrolet Silverado at the top of the timesheet for Thursday’s practice from Daytona International Speedway.
Sauter, making his first of multiple starts for Niece Motorsports in 2024, posted a blistering speed in the draft during Thursday’s 50-minute practice, clocking in at 47.258 seconds (190.444mph).
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Tanner Gray of TRICON Garage slotted into the second position, after drafting with the 2016 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion during the session, clocking in 0.027 seconds behind the No. 45.
Returning to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series after several years away, Ty Dillon was third-quickest in the No. 25 Chevrolet for Rackley WAR, while McAnally-Hilgemann Racing teammates Daniel Dye and Christian Eckes were quick enough to claim fourth and fifth place.
Matt Mills, a teammate to Sauter this weekend at Daytona, was sixth in the session, with Dean Thompson clocking in just behind in seventh. In his first on-track session since reuniting with Reaume Brothers Racing, Lawless Alan settled into eighth in the No. 33 Ford F-150.
Bayley Currey and Bryan Dauzat rounded out the top-10 in Thursday’s practice session, which gives the 40-truck entry list a baseline before heading into single-vehicle qualifying on Friday, before the green-flag in Friday’s Fresh from Florida 250.
Throughout the 50-minute practice session, there were no on-track issues, with the session running completely under the green flag, contrary to the situation in the first practice of the season for the last couple of years.
By the end of the session, 39 of the 40 trucks entered for Friday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series had taken time, the slowest of which was Jennifer Jo Cobb, clocking in nearly five seconds off the pace of session-leader Johnny Sauter.
Ryan Huff, who joined Cobb on the entry list mid-week in the No. 36 Ryan Huff Motorsports Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, did not make a lap in Thursday’s practice, despite being on the premises with his entry.
