The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series visited the Daytona International Speedway Road Course for the first time in series history Sunday afternoon.
Sheldon Creed continued his late-season dominance by earning his second career victory after leading the final 12 laps of the race when original race leader Matt Crafton missed the Turn 9 and 10 chicane on the backstretch. The Californian now has 14 playoff points to his credit, sits on top of the playoff points standings and is looking pretty good for a championship run.
While Creed enjoyed his late-race run, others suffered, including Christian Eckes. Eckes was coming to the line but made contact with Stewart Friesen and saw his No. 18 Truck get torn up. It was a miserable outing for the New York native who ended up 12th as a result of the crash after having solid runs the last few races.
With that in mind, a few other drivers were able to capitalize on someones else’s misfortune, and come away with a good overall day.
Here are this week’s Power Rankings following the Sunoco 159 at the Daytona International Road Course.
- Sheldon Creed – Okay, raise your hands if you didn’t see this (win) coming. The victory shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise as Creed led 19 laps and won Stage 2 to gain some valuable playoff points for his No. 2 GMS Racing team. He finished second in the first stage as well. Winning the Daytona Road Course race was purely sweet, sweet victory as the last two races at Kansas and Michigan didn’t go so well. The victory was a nice picker-upper for Creed.
Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked - Grant Enfinger – It was a valiant effort for Enfinger who rebounded the No. 98 Champion Power Equipment Ford F-150 to a seventh-place finish after earlier issues. Things went south for a while when his ThorSport team had to change a battery during one of the stage breaks. It took the Alabaman all of the race to get back in fighting contention but he managed his sixth top 10 of the 2020 season. Like Creed, the finish was also a rebound for Enfinger who lost the race last week at Michigan when he collided with a couple of trucks on a late-race restart. Though with Creed scoring the victory, Enfinger now sits second in playoff points, +11 above the cut line. Enfinger is locked into the playoffs via his Daytona victory earlier in the year but needs to work on winning more stages and races to comfortably avoid another Las Vegas incident.
Previous Week Ranking – Fifth - Matt Crafton – A ho-hum fourth-place finish for Crafton who nearly gave the race away in the remaining laps. The three-time champion was looking for his second win of the season but his run was ruined by going through the backstretch chicane and losing two positions on the racetrack. Thankfully for Crafton, he didn’t receive a penalty from NASCAR, since he cut the corners and NASCAR deemed losing two positions was enough and did not merit a penalty. However, the ThorSport driver hung on for a top-five finish, finishing fourth, Crafton’s sixth top-five of the year. Regardless of the incident, Crafton sits fifth in the playoff standings.
Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked - Raphael Lessard – Rapahel Lessard earned the best finish of his Truck Series career after ending up in the third position in the final running order. The Canadian, however, most likely could have won the race had he not overshot the last chicane in the final laps of the race. The victory would definitely have been a big win for Lessard, but for now, he will have to move forward and try again at the next event. Nonetheless, a great effort and a solid finish for Lessard, especially when all could have gone away in those intense moments.
Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked - Brett Moffitt – A stage win and a second-place finish was what the No. 23 team received following Sunday’s race. Moffitt followed up his sixth-place outing last week at Michigan and almost scored the victory. The Iowan was pushing hard in those remaining laps and had Creed slipped up in any form or fashion, Moffitt would have been there to pounce and get the victory instead. However, now with Creed and Zane Smith having victories in the GMS camp, Moffitt and his teammate Tyler Ankrum are the only ones who don’t have wins in that stable. They have two races left to make it happen and get their playoff spot secured.
Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
Fell Out
- Christian Eckes – It was a tough day at the office for Eckes who could only get a 12th place result. He spun in Turn 3 while leading and couldn’t get back into contention. His day got even worse when the No. 18 Safelite Truck was destroyed after taking the checkered flag.
Previous Week Ranking – Second - Derek Kraus – Electrical problems plagued Kraus and put the Bill McAnally driver out of the race and credited with a 30th place finish.
Previous Week Ranking – Third - Ben Rhodes – Rhodes had a forgettable day as he would finish 14th in the final running order, after being, at one point, one of the highest running ThorSport trucks.
Previous Week Ranking – Fourth
