After winning the series title last year with driver Brett Moffitt, Austin Hill took over the No. 16 Toyota and powered to a victory in Friday night’s season opener at Daytona International Speedway. On the restart of the second overtime, Hill got out to a sizable lead over Matt Crafton and Spencer Boyd. Hill managed to stay out front and held off Grant Enfinger to claim his first series win in his 52nd career start. “Man, this truck was fast, it really was. I knew we had a truck that could compete,” Hill said in Victory Lane. “I got a little scared there at the end. I thought (Enfinger) was going to get me, he had a big run. “I can’t believe my first win came at Daytona. It’s so surreal. I can’t wait to party with these guys.” Hill said even though he was reminded constantly to save fuel at the end of the race, Hill said he had little confidence he had gotten the job done. “We pitted really early and we already knew it was going to be close and then then when we went overtime, I was so scared,” he said. “I just knew I was going to run out off (Turn) 4 and not make it to the line. “So much stuff was going through my head, but – hey – we’re in Victory Lane.” Ross Chastain was third, Boyd was fourth and Crafton ended up fifth. On Lap 53 of the scheduled 100, while coming off Turn 4, Jordan Anderson got into Sheldon Creed which triggered a massive accident that collected nearly a dozen trucks. Among those who suffered extensive damage and taken out of contention were Moffitt, Johnny Sauter, Christian Eckes, Brennan Poole and Myatt Snider. The race returned to green on Lap 63 only to return to caution one lap later when Eckes’ truck erupted in flames coming down the frontstretch. He was unhurt. The race returned to green on Lap 70, with Hill leading the way. On Lap 77, Cory Roper, running fourth, spun off Turn 4 after hitting Rhodes and slammed into the inside retaining wall to bring out another caution. Rhodes grabbed the lead just before the caution was displayed. On the restart on Lap 84, Hill was out front followed by Ben Rhodes and Clay Greenfield. With 13 to go, Rhodes got a push into the lead as Stewart Friesen moved into second and Gus Dean into third. On Lap 89, Todd Gilliland got into his Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate, Harrison Burton, sending both into the wall off Turn 2 and brought out a caution. The race returned to green with seven laps remaining. Clay Greenfield and Timothy Peters wrecked on the restart lap, bringing out the caution once again. The race restarted with three laps to go with Rhodes out front, followed by Hill and Dean. With just over one lap to go, Creed got into Dean, who got knocked into leader Rhodes to trigger another big wreck and send the race into the first overtime. Stage 2 Sauter held off a wild charge from Friesen to claim the victory in the second stage. Rhodes was third, David Gilliland was fourth and Boyd was fifth. The second stage went green on Lap 27 with Sauter leading the way followed by Enfinger and Moffitt. Just after Moffitt took the lead on Lap 27, a three-truck wreck erupted behind him involving Ray Ciccarelli, Tyler Dippel and Chris Fontaine. Eckes also appeared to suffer some front-end damage in the incident. The race returned to green on Lap 34 with Moffitt in the lead followed by Sauter and Creed. On the restart, Moffitt and Creed were black-flagged for locking bumpers, which left Sauter in the lead. With five laps left, Sauter led the way followed by Enfinger and Todd Gilliland. Todd Gilliland moved into the lead with two laps left in the stage but Sauter quickly retook the lead with one to go. Stage 1 Creed easily held off Hill to win the first stage of the 2019 season. On Lap 3, Natalie Decker got a flat right-front tire after hitting debris on the track and fire erupted under her hood from a broken oil line. She quickly brought her truck down to pit road. While the race was placed under caution, Bryan Dauzat brought his truck down pit road, the driver’s cockpit clouded with smoke. Without any brakes he ran over one of his crew member, Billy Rock, who waiting for Dauzat to stop in his stall. “I just lost brakes when I was coming in. He jumped out in front. I told him, 'I have no brakes.' And he came out in front,” Dauzat said. The crew member was loaded on a stretcher and transported to a local hospital for further evaluation. During the incident, David Gilliland, Decker’s teammate, also ran over debris and suffered a flat tire. He was able to return to the race. The race returned to green on Lap 9 with Creed leading the way, followed by Moffitt and Enfinger. With five laps left in the first stage, Creed held a small advantage over Moffitt and followed by Eckes. Both Burton and Robby Lyons had to start the race from the rear of the field – Burton for an engine change and Lyons for unapproved adjustments.<doc-sep>DAYTONA BEACH — A race broke out at the end of a crashfest when Austin Hill put a serious, last-lap block on Grant Enfinger to win the NextEra Energy 250 Gander Outdoors Truck Series race that went deep into overtime at Daytona International Speedway. The race, scheduled for 100 laps over Daytona’s 2.5-mile tri-oval, went to Lap 111 thanks to a record 11 yellow flags, many coming at the end of this NASCAR season opener. It was a huge night for Hill, who nabbed his first Truck Series win in his 51st start. “This truck was fast,” Hill said. “I knew we had a truck that could compete. At the end, I thought the No. 98 (Enfinger) was going to get me but we were able to protect it. I can’t believe my first win was at Daytona.” An estimated 35,000 watched the drama, which started on Lap 1 when Natalie Decker cut a tire, which created a fire in her engine compartment. No drivers were reported injured, but a jackman identified by Fox Sports 1 as Billy Rock was struck on pit road by the No. 28 truck of Bryan Dauzat. NASCAR announced Rock was awake and alert and had been transported to an area hospital for further evaluation. The “Big One” happened on Lap 54 when a dozen trucks bashed into the wall and each other in Turn 3. Only nine trucks finished on the lead lap. “We tore up a lot of crap tonight,” Enfinger said. “We made it interesting there at the end. The No. 16 (Hill’s Toyota) threw some big-time blocks.” Ross Chastain, who started 23rd in the 32-car field, finished third followed by Spencer Boyd and Matt Crafton, who was second at the final restart. “We didn’t qualify where we wanted to,” Chastain said. “We played it safe. The truck held up and had plenty of speed. I tried to bump draft Grant up there but it didn’t work out.” As for the yellow flags, Chastain shrugged it off. “Truck races are always like this,” he said. Crafton said the dicing and dodging over the last two laps got the best of him. “I’m usually terrible at these places,” Crafton said of his record at Daytona and Talladega Superspeedway. Angela Ruch finished eighth in the No. 8 Chevrolet, owned by Joe Nemechek. It was the second-best finish by a female driver in Truck Series history. Jennifer Jo Cobb finished sixth in the Truck Series race at Daytona in 2011. Ruch is now tied with Danica Patrick for second-best finish by a woman in one of NASCAR's top series at Daytona. Patrick finished eighth in the 2013 and 2014 Daytona 500s. Ruch led two laps before falling back in the pack. She said her truck was having problems late in the race and was happy to finish. “Crazy race,” said Ruch, who is a niece of 1990 Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope. “A top 10? This is a dream of mine to be here. I’m ecstatic.” The “Big One” was ignited when Jordan Anderson, driving the No. 3 Chevy, appeared to slow and move to the outside lane. “It looks like the No. 3 (Anderson) had a tire going down and he couldn’t get out of the way,” driver Brett Moffitt said after exiting his damaged No. 24 Chevy. “I guess the No. 2 (Sheldon Creed) got him. It was fun while it lasted.” Creed continued, but his truck went up in a ball of flames on Lap 99. Hill missed the huge crash thanks to losing momentum and track position. “I had a big run on Ben Rhodes and we were second,” Hill said. “We lost our momentum. The outside lane got a big run on us then they wrecked and we made it through.” In the closing laps, Hill was more concerned about how much fuel he had left in the tank. “That whole last lap my heart was pounding,” he said. “The fuel situation was really big, I’m just glad to get to the finish line. "I never thought in a million years I’d win at Daytona.”<doc-sep>Hello? There's no Racing News down here. Where ya off to? Bob, this doesn't look good... Are you lost... The blue dot on the GPS won't help you here. It's probably too late to turn back now anyway. Baby Jessica, it appears you've fallen into the well. Like a mummy at night fightin' with bright lightnin'. I'm not here to save you. I'm just here for the ride. So, let me entertain you and everything will be fine. Have you had it up to here? That's Rock Bottom. Click here to exit the well.<doc-sep>NASCAR Truck Series race results from Daytona International Speedway Tonight, the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series season gets underway with the NextEra Energy 250. The 2.5-mile oval of Daytona International Speedway hosts the season opener. View the full 2019 Daytona truck race results below. 2019 Daytona Menu: NGOTS TV | Prac 1 & 2 | Qual | Race Christian Eckes and David Gilliland will lead the field to the flag stand. It’s a brief 250-mile race over 100 laps. DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 15: The green flag waves at the start of the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2019 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) Daytona Truck Race Stage 1 – Report Laps: 20 Green flag, Eckes gets the jump on the outside lane. He slots to the bottom in turn one. Creed fills the hole on the outside lane. Bryan Dauzat pushes up the hill with a flat right front and puts another Robby Lyons in the wall. They all continue. David Gilliland is slow with a flat tire! Todd Gilliland gets into the back of him. They all continue but Creed takes the lead. Natalie Decker has a flat left front tire also. She’s on fire as the tire has caught an oil line. These two are teammates with the exact same issue, at the same time. Debris caused flat tires on all three incidents. Bryan Dauzat heads to the pit lane and runs over his jack man as he has no brakes! The jack man needs help from an official to get off the ground. This is only lap 2! The caution is obviously out. Green, Creed leads on the outside lane. Harison Burton heads to the pit lane coming to the green, he thinks he has a flat. Lap 12, the top four run single file around the bottom. Two by two behind them. Final lap in stage 1, Sheldon Creed leads off turn four. They run three wide for 2nd. Creed takes the stage 1 win at Daytona! Stage 1 Results – Daytona Truck Race: 1. Sheldon Creed; 2. Austin Hill; 3. Christian Eckes; 4. Brett Moffitt; 5. Grant Enfinger; 6. Austin Wayne Self; 7. Myatt Snider; 8. Clay Greenfield; 9. Todd Gilliland; 10. Brennan Poole; Daytona Truck Race Stage 2 – Report Laps: 20 The leaders head for the pit lane. Creed is first in but he gets pinned behind Anderson on pit exit. Moffitt leads them off the pit lane. Johnny Sauter stayed out, he’ll lead them to the restart. Green flag, Sauter leads on the inside. Moffitt leads Creed on the outside lane. They run two by two from first to last. Lap 28, big crash. The outside lane stacked up. Tyler Dippel made a hard left hand down the back straight to avoid it. Dippel got sideways and collected several trucks. Green, Moffitt leads with a push from Creed. Black flag! Both drivers will head to the pit lane to serve a pass through penalty. Sauter inherits the lead. 4 to go in stage 2, Todd Gilliland is moving on the top lane. Sauter pulls up to block, he gets sideways but straightens it out and holds the lead. Friesen is coming on the bottom, Sauter blocks. Sauter is trying to block both lanes. He can’t. 2 to go, Gilliland is on his right rear. Gilliland and Sauter are side by side for the lead. 1 to go, still side by side. Gilliland noses ahead down the back stretch. He drops to the bottom. Sauter gets a run, Gilliland tries to block and Sauter squeezes between him and the wall. Sauter retakes the lead and wins stage 2! Stage 3 Results – Daytona Truck Race: 1. Johnny Sauter; 2. Stewart Friesen; 3. Ben Rhodes; 4. David Gilliland; 5. Spencer Boyd; 6. Grant Enfinger; 7. Myatt Snider; 8. Todd Gilliland; 9. Harrison Burton; 10. Austin Wayne Self; Daytona Truck Race Stage 3 – Report Laps: 60 David Gilliland leads the field off the pit lane. Moffitt gets handed another penalty, too many men over the wall. Green flag, Todd Gilliland and David Gilliland run side by side at the front. Stewart Friesen is working lane three. The middle lane shuffles out of the picture. Lap 54, Jordan Anderson was running at the front of the field. Sparks fly from under his machine and Creed closed in a hurry. Anderson was trying to catch the front bumper of Creed. As Anderson came down, Creed was already looking under him. Anderson tried to block and catch the front of the outside line. Instead, he was turned hard into the outside wall off turn four as the closing rate was too great. A whole bunch of trucks are collected. Many cars head for the pit lane. Burton and David Gilliland will be held for a lap for passing the pace truck on the way to pit road. Angela Ruch, the niece of Derrike Cope leads them to the restart. Green, Austin Hill gets the jump. He leads Ben Rhodes. 37 to go, Eckes is on fire. He comes to a stop and brings the caution back out. Green, two by two. Austin Hill leads the inside lane. Ben Rhodes leads the outside lane. Austin Hill noses ahead on the bottom lane. 27 to go, Hill gets too big of a lead as Cory Roper can’t pull to his bumper. Rhodes gets a run and points it to the outside. He pulls even with Hill. 24 to go, Roper is now on the bumper of Hill. His front end gets light off turn four and he pushes up the banking. Contact with the outside line in combination of a hard turn to the left and he’s sideways heading for the inside wall on his own. Big hit but he climbs from the truck. Green, Hill leads on the bottom lane. 14 to go, Stewart Friesen is on the bumper of Ben Rhodes. Rhodes gets a shot on the outside lane. He’s clear of Hill and drops to the bottom.<doc-sep>
The 2019 NASCAR Truck Series got off to a wild start last night On Friday night, the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series began their 2019 racing season. They took the green in the NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway. After months of cabin fever, the fans and drivers were ready for a racing fix. The anticipation was high for the green flag. It dropped and all hell broke loose in a real hurry. Bryan Dauzat, David Gilliland and Natalie Decker pick up flat tires at the same time First, Bryan Dauzat picked up a flat tire while running the inside lane. He pushed up the banking until he collected Robby Lyons and stuffed him into the wall. They all continued after that incident and the race remained green. Moments later, David Gilliland had a flat tire at the front of the field. He was running 2nd with his son right behind him. David started to slow as he felt a left front tire going down. At the exact same time, Natalie Decker, who started 11th in her first start also had a flat tire. She didn’t slow down in anticipation of the blowout. When it blew, it took the fender with it. She drove it back to the pit lane at a high rate of speed. As the tire continued to come apart, it ripped an oil line. The oil line then caused a fire on the left front. She came to a stop near her pit stall. Decker climbed from her truck in a hurry and tripped over the pit wall. Safety workers were quick to extinguish the flames. She was alright. David Gilliland and Natalie Decker are teammates at DGR-Crosley. Each had flat left fronts at the exact same time from different ends of the field. Due to the fire on Natalie Decker’s machine the caution flag was waved. Billy Rock, jack man for Bryan Dauzat hit at Daytona Jackman, Billy Rock Several trucks came to the pit lane including Bryan Dauzat who was the first truck with a flat tire. “Going into the turn on the drop of the green, something came off Joe’s truck,” Dauzat said after the race. “Whether it was from his truck or someone else’s truck, I don’t know. I thought I centered it, but it must’ve hit the right-front tire. I don’t know.” Dauzat had no brakes as he came to pit road. As he approached the pit stall he was weaving back and forth to slow the car down. The jackman of the #28 FDNY Racing team jumped out in front of the truck as if it was a normal stop. Dauzat continued to roll. “I just lost brakes when I was coming in,” Dauzat said. “… I told him, I said, ‘I have no brakes,’ and he came out in front.” They collided. Jackman Billy Rock was launched over the nose and into the air. He came down on the pavement with the jack still in hand. Rock needed help from the NASCAR safety crew to get off the pit lane as he laid on the ground from the impact with the race truck. He was carried off the pit lane on a stretcher. The jackman, Rock was awake and alert after a trip to the infield care center at Daytona International Speedway. He was then transported to Halifax Health Medical Center. Rock suffered a broken shoulder as reported by Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. Jim Rosenblum, the team owner stated that the jackman was later released from the hospital. DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 15: Harrison Burton, driver of the #18 Safelite AutoGlass Toyota, pits during the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2019 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) Harrison Burton – Flat tire number four As the field rolled to the green flag, Harrison Burton began to feel a flat. As the field took the green, he turned left for the pit lane. Sure enough, he had a flat. That flat was collected at the same time as the others. That was four separate incidents of flat tires in the first two laps of green flag racing. All four were caused by debris. The race set a record breaking number of cautions at 11. Austin Hill went on to win the race blocking from the top lane to the bottom. A wild start to a new season.