Friday, February 18
Track: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, 2.5-mile superspeedway
Race: 1 of 23
Event: NextEra Energy 250 (100 laps, 250 miles)
Schedule
Thursday, February 17
Final Practice: 5:05 p.m. ET
Friday, February 18
Qualifying: 3:00 p.m. ET
Race: 7:30 p.m. ET (FOX Sports 1)
Hailie Deegan, No. 1 Monster Energy Ford F-150
- Hailie Deegan returns full-time to the No. 1 Ford F-150 for her sophomore season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with the support of Monster Energy and Wastequip.
- Crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. will once again lead the team from atop the pit box and TJ Majors will guide the 20-year-old driver on the radio.
- In her rookie campaign in 2021, Deegan earned her first career NCWTS top-10 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in Madison, Illinois with a seventh-place run.
- In last year’s NextEra Energy 250, the Monster Energy driver had to settle for a 24th-place finish after contact with 19 laps remaining caused her to spin and make contact with the inside wall.
- Beyond the Truck Series, she has one other start at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. In 2020, she started seventh in the ARCA Menards Series and finished runner-up in the 80-lap event.
Tanner Gray, No. 15 Black’s Tire Ford F-150
- 2022 will be the third consecutive full-time season in the NCWTS for Tanner Gray.
- Veteran crew chief Jerry Baxter has joined the organization to lead the No. 15 team in 2022. Baxter most recently worked at Richard Petty Motorsports with Erik Jones in the NASCAR Cup Series. In addition, Kevin Hamlin returns as the spotter for this season.
- The 22-year-old driver is eager to return to Daytona after a mechanical failure during the pace laps of last year’s event kept him from completing a single green flag lap.
- Gray’s only previous Truck Series start at the 2.5-mile track in 2020 ended in a 23rd-place result due to an accident. He also has two ARCA Menards Series starts with a best of finish of seventh last February.
- Black’s Tire and David Gilliland Racing announced on February 7th that the premier distributor of tires, wheels, equipment and tire-related supplies will be partnering with Tanner Gray for four races in 2022 beginning at Daytona.
Riley Herbst, No. 17 Mechanix Wear Ford F-150
- Riley Herbst is back behind the wheel of the No. 17 F-150 for Friday evening’s NextEra Energy 250 with support from Mechanix Wear.
- In 2021, the Las Vegas native piloted the No. 17 at the Daytona Road Course and after starting 25th, earned a fifth-place finish. He also made one appearance in a DGR ARCA car at Watkins Glen International in August finishing sixth.
- Herbst has a bevy of experience at Daytona with five starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series including a top-five and two top-10s, one Truck Series start with a pole award and three ARCA Menards Series starts with three top-10s.
- After a part-time schedule last season, the No. 17 truck is anticipated to run a full-time schedule in 2022 featuring an all-star lineup anchored by Taylor Gray and Ryan Preece.
