That’s a fitting way to start your rookie campaign in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
In the sole practice session for the NASCAR Truck Series at Daytona International Speedway, Rajah Caruth put his No. 24 Wendell Scott Foundation Chevrolet Silverado at the top of the speed charts Thursday.
While making laps in a multi-truck pack, Caruth was able to post a quick time of 47.760s (188.442mph) to lead the 50-minute session, over fellow Chevrolet drivers Christian Eckes, who steered the No. 19 NAPA Auto Care entry to second place.
Jack Wood, Parker Kligerman, Chase Purdy, and Nick Sanchez completed a Chevrolet stranglehold on the top-six positions in the session. Matt Crafton was the highest-placed Ford F-150 in practice in seventh, while Stewart Friesen’s Toyota placed eighth.
Corey LaJoie, who will do double-duty in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series this weekend at Daytona International Speedway, placed his No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado in ninth place.
Completing the top-10, in what was likely the biggest surprise of the session, was Norm Benning, who laid down the 10th-fastest lap in the No. 46 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for G2G Racing.
Benning, 71, will look to make his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start in two seasons, but will have to qualify the G2G Racing entry into the field in Friday’s qualifying session.
There were no major incidents that took place throughout the 50-minute practice session, as far as collisions are concerned. However, Todd Peck, Matt DiBenedetto, and Daniel Dye each suffered minor mechanical setbacks.
Dye, contesting his rookie campaign for GMS Racing, was unable to complete a lap in the session, meaning his first lap in a NASCAR Truck Series entry at Daytona will come in qualifying on Friday.
Practice Results:
2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona Practice Results