Track: Daytona International Speedway, 2.5-mile tri-oval
Race: 1 of 23
Event: NextEra Energy 250 (250 miles, 100 laps)
Schedule:
Thursday, Feb. 13
4:05 p.m…………Practice (FS2)
5:30 p.m………….Final Practice (FS1)
Friday, Feb. 14
3:10 p.m…………Qualifying (FS1)
7:30 p.m…………Race (FS1)
(all times ET)
Tanner Gray, No. 15 Ford Performance F-150
Tanner Gray will conclude his busy NASCAR Speedweeks schedule on Friday evening as the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series kicks-off the season at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Friday’s NextEra Energy 250 will mark Gray’s third race of the week after he competed in the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series East season openers.
After seeing success in NASCAR’s regional East Series last year, Gray will compete full-time in DGR-Crosley’s No. 15 Ford Performance F-150 in 2020. The 20-year-old New Mexico native will run for Rookie of the Year honors all while looking to secure his first national series win and make a run in the NASCAR Playoffs. Gray has three Truck Series starts under his belt; however, he will be making his series superspeedway debut this weekend on the 2.5-mile track in Daytona.
In preparation for Friday’s event, Gray competed in the ARCA Menards Series race last weekend, where he led four laps and was running inside the top-five before a mechanical issue ended his night early. While not the finish Gray and his team was hoping for, his Ford Fusion showed impressive speed and allowed him to navigate his way through the field multiple times. The drafting experience will be valuable as the young driver heads into Friday’s Truck Series race.
The No. 15 DGR-Crosley team will be led by veteran crew chief Shane Wilson who is new to the organization this season. Gray will have a familiar voice from the spotter stand in NASCAR Cup Series spotter Kevin Hamlin; the duo worked together multiple times last season.
The NextEra Energy 250 will be a 100 lap race broken up into three segments with stage-ending cautions coming out after lap 20 and lap 40. A live broadcast of the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series season opener will be shown on FS1 beginning at 7:30 p.m., ET.
Gray on Daytona: “I’ve been impressed with the amount of speed our Fords have had down here [Daytona, Fla.] so far. The DGR-Crosley guys have worked really hard in the offseason, and it’s showing. We’ve just had some bad luck, but I’m really hoping that we can turn that around on Friday. I’m looking forward to my team getting down here and spending some time with them. It’s basically a new team for me this year as I transition to the Truck Series. We have a lot of veteran talent, especially in my crew chief Shane Wilson. It’s going to be important for us to quickly figure out how each other operates at the track and really work on building that relationship. I’m at the shop every day, but you can’t prepare for how things are going to go at the track until you’re there and experience it. Superspeedway races are essentially a game of survival, so hopefully, we can stay out of trouble and be there at the end. I feel like I definitely learned a lot in the ARCA race that will help us on Friday night.”
