Daytona International Speedway – The World Center of Racing – is giving two 2013 champions a chance to make history.
For one driver the outcome of his chance will be known by the end of the NextEra Energy Resources 250 on Friday night at Daytona International Speedway. For the other, it’s just the beginning of his journey and a chance to get started with a strong finish in the first race of the season.
Johnny Sauter is back to defend his victory last year in the NextEra Energy Resources 250 and could become only the second driver in series history to win back-to-back victories at Daytona. And for reigning series champion Matt Crafton, his journey to defend his title begins at Daytona. If he succeeds, he will earn his place in the record books as the first to earn a back-to-back championship in truck series history. His journey begins at Daytona.
Johnny Sauter is the first driver since 2008 to sweep the Daytona and Talladega Superspeedway races in the same season. Todd Bodine was the last driver to carry out that feat and he set another mark for Sauter to reach at Daytona in 2014. Bodine is the only driver to ever win back-to-back Camping World Truck Series races at Daytona when he did just that in 2008-09.
Although Sauter won three times last season, including a spring Martinsville win, the key for him this season is to avoid the mid-season slump that cost him a chance at the 2013 title. Sauter did rebound after his sluggish summer stretch to finish the season with seven top-ten finishes over the last eight races, finishing fourth in the point standings.
Sauter has nine career series wins and enters the season having won at least one race over the past five years – most among current drivers.
Fans will also find Sauter sporting new colors this year on his No. 98 Toyota Tundra with Nextant Aerospace stepping up to sponsor 12 races as primary sponsor and associate sponsor for the remaining ten events on the 2014 schedule.
At Homestead last year, Matt Crafton celebrated his first Camping World Truck Series championship, due in large part to his strong start at the beginning of the season. Crafton earned 16 consecutive top-ten finishes to start the season highlighted by a win at Kansas Speedway. That win put the California native into the points lead and he never looked back. Crafton wants nothing more than to repeat his performance to become the only driver in series history to win back-to-back titles.
There have been 13 drivers crowned as champion in the Camping World Truck Series and three of those drivers have multiple titles. But no one has been able to win back-to-back crowns. If Crafton can match his consistency of last year en route to his championship, two in a row could happen.
As for Daytona, despite a crash that ended his day early in 2012, Crafton has finished in the top-ten in four of the last five season openers with a career-best finish of fifth in 2010.
A new member of ThorSport Racing is Jeb Burton. His toughest competitors last year are now his teammates for the 2014 season. The three drivers of Sauter, Crafton and Burton should create a triple threat for the rest of the field beginning at Daytona and throughout the season.
For the France family, the tradition continues. It is well-known that Bill France Sr is the man responsible for building Daytona International Speedway. Most people also know that Bill France Sr climbed behind the wheel to race for years before he founded NASCAR.
There is one thing, however that a France family member has never done at the storied 2.5-mile facility – compete in a NASCAR national series event.
On Friday night, Bill France Sr’s great grandson Ben Kennedy becomes the first France family member to compete in a national series race at the historic Daytona track. Kennedy is the son of International Speedway Corporation CEO, Lesa France Kennedy and will graduate in May from the University of Florida. He plans to drive full-time for Turner Scott Motorsports and contend for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors this season.
In 2012 John King turned a lot of heads by piloting his Red Horse Racing truck to Victory Lane. His win was his first in NASCAR’s top-three national series and remains his only win on a limited schedule. Friday night King returns to Daytona with NTS Motorsports. Last year his teammate Brennan Newberry started on the pole, so another strong performance on Friday could be in store for the team.
The biggest news for the series this season is the Trucks are getting a facelift marking the dawn of a new era. On Wednesday, all three competing manufacturers are unveiling trucks with new body styles. After several years of research, testing and preparation the new Trucks will feature new body styles matching their showroom counterparts.
The question on everyone’s mind is how will the new body style impact racing on the track? That question for superspeedways, will finally be answered on Friday night.
The NextEra Energy Resources is Friday, February 21st at 7:30 pm on Fox Sports 1.