Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
NextEra Energy 250 | Friday, February 17, 2023
ZANE SMITH REPEATS SEASON-OPENING DAYTONA VICTORY
Defending NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Zane Smith won the season-opening NextEra 250 for the second consecutive year in a race that was called due to rain 20 laps from the scheduled distance.
The win is Smith’s eighth career series victory and the 114th all-time NCTS triumph for Ford.
Smith led 17 of the 79 laps that were completed while Matt Crafton and Ty Majeski led two each.
Ford Finishing Results:
1st – Zane Smith
6th – Ty Majeski
9th – Matt Crafton
11th – Ben Rhodes
21st – Jason M. White
24th – Mason Massey
35th – Hailie Deegan
ZANE SMITH, No. 38 Love’s Travel Stops/Speedco Ford F-150 – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW – WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO WIN AGAIN? “It’s huge. The past couple times I’ve actually been to Daytona I’ve gotten to Victory Lane. To do that for a third time, I honestly tried to play that race as smart as possible. When it was getting really aggressive I was getting out of it. I knew that patches of rain were a thing in our Ford meeting earlier in the day. I didn’t think it would stick around for this long, but I just wanted to be there. A huge shoutout to Love’s Travel Stops, Speeco, RTA, Ford Performance. It was awesome working with some more Fords out there this year. This is exactly how we started last year, so we’re looking good.”
ARE YOU THE FAVORITE FOR THE TITLE THIS YEAR? “It’s so early. Honestly, we should have scored some stage points there, but we’re locked in the playoffs.”
HOW DOES THIS WEEKEND FEEL WITH THE CUP RACE TOO? “It’s just been a huge week. It’s so busy going from my F-150 to my Mustang. It’s been such an awesome experience.”
MATT CRAFTON, No. 88 Mold-Armor/Menard’s Ford F-150 – “I ran in the top five pretty much all night, but we had somebody that was leading that second lane on the outside in front of me that didn’t quite know what to do. He wouldn’t drive back to me and he sank us back to ninth and I hate it because I know I would have got back up front. At the end of the day, we had a very fast truck all night long and ran in the top five. If you run in the top five, you’ll win some races and I’m really looking forward to this year because you’ll see this Menard’s Ford F-150 back up front again.”
BEN RHODES, No. 99 Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Ford F-150 – “The accident took away our best chance, but we still had a good chance because my guys got it sealed up really good with bearer bond and it looks like drywall screws. They got really creative and I couldn’t tell a difference. I was out there drafting and we made it all the way back up to the front again before we came in and pitted for a few more repairs when some of the bearer bond came loose. All in all, I felt like we had a really good Clark’s Pump-N-Shop F-150. It was very stable. I looked more stable than the other people that were around me. I felt like I was racier for that reason. The draft is the draft here. It’s just the wild Daytona. I just wish we were able to get some long runs together and capitalize on getting some stage points. We just had a mix of a lot of bad things happen for us tonight, and I wouldn’t say that any of it was any fault of our own, it was just racing conditions and circumstances that are Daytona. I’m ready to get to the next racetrack now. I’m hungrier than ever. When you have a race like this where you feel like you didn’t even get to go out and perform, the next race can’t get here fast enough.”
HAILIE DEEGAN, No. 13 Ford Performance F-150 – “I saw the 84 sideways and that was pretty much that. I saw him going down the track, so I went up. It was a split-second decision. You just go right or left and they ended up bouncing back up off another truck, so it is what it is. We know that Daytona is one of those races where you either finish in the top 10 or you end up on the trailer home.”
YOU SEEMED COMPETITIVE IN THE FIRST STAGE. DOES THIS STING MORE? “I think it hurts even more than any of them have because of the fact we were running really good. My truck had killer speed. We ran good with some of the other guys and I just think we could have had a good one. I mean, it’s superspeedway racing. A lot of people have a good truck or a good car here and end up in one.”
THE COMMUNICATION SEEMED GOOD WITH THE TEAM. “Yeah, it was great. All of those guys, we’ve been doing a lot of work together during the offseason and just getting to know each other and each other’s style of how they talk and what they want from me during these races, and kind of what to expect. I think we all set some really good goals and I was really looking forward to showing my ability, but I think I came into this weekend with the mindset that if it goes good, great. If it doesn’t, don’t let it affect the rest of the season. For me, where we really see is Vegas.”
HOW WAS IT WORKING WITH YOUR TEAMMATES? “It’s awesome. I love my new teammates. They’re great. They’re super helpful. You can tell it’s a really tight team and a tight organization. I worked with Ben at the IMSA race and he was great and he’s a great teammate. They’ve all be super open with information and just wanting to help me, which is really nice.”
IT LOOKED LIKE YOU HAD NOWHERE TO GO, BUT HOW WAS THE HIT? “It was fine, not one of the bad ones. I’d say I’ve had worse.”
WHEN DID YOU SEE THE TRUCK WAS ON FIRE? “It was when they called the red flag. I was down in the middle of three and four on the apron and one of the fire and safety guys came over and he was looking under the truck. I guess it was leaking some oil or something, and he saw a small flame, but nothing that I could see.”
