Hailie Deegan, Dean Thompson, and Clay Greenfield are out of Friday’s NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway, after a multi-truck accident on Lap 30 of the 100-lap season-opener for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
The accident began when Clay Greenfield, driving the No. 84 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for Cook Racing Technologies, was working in the middle of a three-wide situation, attempting to avoid trucks on both sides of him.
Caution at Daytona. Here's what happened. pic.twitter.com/SyifeUcuos
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 18, 2023
It was at the mid-point of the tri-oval when the No. 84 snapped loose, spinning in front of multiple trucks, and collecting several others in the aftermath.
Hailie Deegan sustained the heaviest damage in the accident, alongside Greenfield and Dean Thompson, while other drivers like Daniel Dye, Bret Holmes, Matt DiBenedetto, and Tanner Gray suffered less severe damage.
According to NASCAR Timing and Scoring, Josh Reaume, driving the No. 22 Ford F-150 for AM Racing, was also involved in the accident.
Deegan, who joins ThorSport Racing to pilot the No. 13 Ford F-150, will be credited with a 35th-place finish, only beating Greenfield in Friday’s season-opener at Daytona International Speedway.
“I saw him going down the truck, so I went up,” Deegan said. “It was just a quick split-second decision. You go right or left. And they end up bouncing back up off my truck. It is what it is. Daytona is one of those races where you finish in the top 10 or you end up on the trailer.”
Deegan spoke to TobyChristie.com and other members of the media after being released from the infield care center.
“Yeah, I think it hurts even worse than any of them have because of the fact that we were running really good. I felt my truck had killer speed, and ran good with some of the other guys. I just think we could have had a really good one. But that’s superspeedway racing. You can’t really — a lot of people have a really good truck or car here and don’t get one.”
