2026 Fresh From Florida 250
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 25 of the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series | |||
| Date | February 13, 2026 | ||
| Location | Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 2.5 miles (4.023 km) | ||
| Distance | 102 laps, 255 mi (410.383 km) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 100 laps, 250 mi (402.336 km) | ||
| Average speed | 121.429 miles per hour (195.421 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | ThorSport Racing | ||
| Time | 50.881 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Drivers | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | |
| Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports | ||
| Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | ||
| Laps | 20 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver | Daniel Hemric | McAnally–Hilgemann Racing | |
| Time | 46.479 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 38 | Chandler Smith | Front Row Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FS1 | ||
| Announcers | Jamie Little, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, and Dana White (Stage 2) | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | NRN | ||
| Booth announcers | Alex Hayden and Mike Bagley | ||
| Turn announcers | Dave Moody (1 & 2), Kyle Rickey (Backstretch), and Tim Catalfamo (3 & 4) | ||
The 2026 Fresh From Florida 250 was a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race held on February 13, 2026, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 102 laps—extended from 100 laps due to an overtime finish on the 2.5-mile (4.0-kilometre) superspeedway, it was the first race of the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season, and the 27th running of the event.
In the overtime finish, Chandler Smith, driving for Front Row Motorsports, made a four-wide tri-oval pass underneath John Hunter Nemechek on the final lap to earn his eighth career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win, and his first of the season.[10] Gio Ruggiero finished second, and Christian Eckes finished third. Ty Majeski and Nemechek rounded out the top five, while Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Brenden Queen, Kaden Honeycutt, Tyler Ankrum, and Stewart Friesen rounded out the top ten. The race also produced the most lead changes in series history, with 32 lead changes among 12 drivers.
Report
Background
Daytona International Speedway is one of three superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the other two being Atlanta Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.[11] The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 kilometres) long.[12] The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.[12]
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
The first and only practice session was held on Thursday, February 12, at 5:00 PM EST, and lasted for 50 minutes.[13]
Kaden Honeycutt, driving for Tricon Garage, set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 48.439 seconds, and a speed of 185.801 miles per hour (299.018 km/h).[14]
Practice results
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Kaden Honeycutt | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 48.439 | 185.801 |
| 2 | 1 | Taylor Gray (i) | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 48.448 | 185.766 |
| 3 | 9 | Grant Enfinger | CR7 Motorsports | Chevrolet | 49.449 | 185.762 |
| Full practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Qualifying was held on Friday, February 13, at 3:00 PM EST.[13] Since Daytona International Speedway is a superspeedway, the qualifying procedure used was a single-car, single-lap system with two rounds. In the first round, drivers had one lap to set a time and determined positions 11-36. The fastest ten drivers from the first round advanced to the second and final round, and whoever set the fastest time in Round 2 won the pole and determined the rest of the starting lineup.[15]
Ty Majeski, driving for ThorSport Racing, qualified on pole position, having advanced from the preliminary round and set the fastest time in Round 2, with a lap of 50.881 seconds, and a speed of 176.883 miles per hour (284.666 km/h).[16]
Seven drivers failed to qualify: Bryan Dauzat, Timmy Hill, Justin Carroll, Tyler Tomassi, Norm Benning, Toni Breidinger, and Greg Van Alst.
Qualifying results
Race
Race results
Stage results
Stage One Laps: 20
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 77 | Carson Hocevar (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 2 | 15 | Tanner Gray | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 91 | Christian Eckes | McAnally–Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 62 | John Hunter Nemechek (i) | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 5 | 7 | Michael McDowell (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 6 | 11 | Kaden Honeycutt | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 88 | Ty Majeski | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 1 | Taylor Gray (i) | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 0 |
| 9 | 12 | Brendan Queen (R) | Kaulig Racing | Ram | 2 |
| 10 | 9 | Grant Enfinger | CR7 Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage Two Laps: 20
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 38 | Chandler Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 34 | Layne Riggs | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 88 | Ty Majeski | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 1 | Taylor Gray (i) | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 0 |
| 5 | 7 | Michael McDowell (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 6 | 5 | Nick Leitz | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 91 | Christian Eckes | McAnally–Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 62 | John Hunter Nemechek (i) | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 9 | 75 | Corey LaJoie (i) | Henderson Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 10 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 1 |
Final stage results
Stage Three Laps: 62
| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 38 | Chandler Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 102 | 8 | Running | 65 |
| 2 | 9 | 17 | Gio Ruggiero | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 102 | 0 | Running | 35 |
| 3 | 11 | 91 | Christian Eckes | McAnally–Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 102 | 1 | Running | 46 |
| 4 | 1 | 88 | Ty Majeski | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 102 | 5 | Running | 45 |
| 5 | 19 | 62 | John Hunter Nemechek (i) | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota | 102 | 10 | Running | 0 |
| 6 | 30 | 45 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (i) | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 102 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 7 | 22 | 12 | Brenden Queen (R) | Kaulig Racing | Ram | 102 | 0 | Running | 32 |
| 8 | 7 | 11 | Kaden Honeycutt | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 102 | 1 | Running | 34 |
| 9 | 6 | 18 | Tyler Ankrum | McAnally–Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 102 | 0 | Running | 28 |
| 10 | 24 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota | 102 | 0 | Running | 27 |
| 11 | 25 | 5 | Nick Leitz | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 102 | 3 | Running | 31 |
| 12 | 27 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 102 | 0 | Running | 26 |
| 13 | 28 | 44 | Andrés Pérez de Lara | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 102 | 0 | Running | 24 |
| 14 | 23 | 13 | Cole Butcher (R) | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 102 | 0 | Running | 23 |
| 15 | 13 | 42 | Travis Pastrana | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 102 | 1 | Running | 22 |
| 16 | 33 | 33 | Frankie Muniz | Team Reaume | Ford | 102 | 0 | Running | 21 |
| 17 | 31 | 10 | Daniel Dye | Kaulig Racing | Ram | 102 | 0 | Running | 20 |
| 18 | 17 | 95 | Clay Greenfield | GK Racing | Chevrolet | 102 | 0 | Running | 19 |
| 19 | 37 | 14 | Mini Tyrrell (R) | Kaulig Racing | Ram | 102 | 0 | Running | 18 |
| 20 | 29 | 22 | Josh Reaume | Team Reaume | Ford | 102 | 0 | Running | 17 |
| 21 | 34 | 76 | Spencer Boyd | Freedom Racing Enterprises | Chevrolet | 102 | 0 | Running | 16 |
| 22 | 16 | 16 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Ram | 102 | 20 | Running | 15 |
| 23 | 3 | 15 | Tanner Gray | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 102 | 11 | Running | 23 |
| 24 | 2 | 7 | Michael McDowell (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 101 | 20 | Running | 0 |
| 25 | 26 | 81 | Kris Wright | McAnally–Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 101 | 0 | Running | 12 |
| 26 | 32 | 19 | Daniel Hemric | McAnally–Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 101 | 0 | Running | 12 |
| 27 | 20 | 26 | Dawson Sutton | Rackley W.A.R. | Chevrolet | 101 | 0 | Running | 10 |
| 28 | 14 | 1 | Taylor Gray (i) | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 101 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 29 | 5 | 9 | Grant Enfinger | CR7 Motorsports | Chevrolet | 100 | 0 | Running | 9 |
| 30 | 21 | 97 | Jason Kitzmiller | CR7 Motorsports | Chevrolet | 100 | 0 | Running | 7 |
| 31 | 35 | 34 | Layne Riggs | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 98 | 2 | Running | 15 |
| 32 | 8 | 98 | Jake Garcia | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 98 | 0 | Running | 5 |
| 33 | 36 | 2 | Jason White | Team Reaume | Ford | 98 | 0 | Running | 4 |
| 34 | 18 | 75 | Corey LaJoie (i) | Henderson Motorsports | Chevrolet | 92 | 0 | Engine | 0 |
| 35 | 4 | 77 | Carson Hocevar (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 88 | 20 | Suspension | 0 |
| 36 | 15 | 25 | Tony Stewart | Kaulig Racing | Ram | 39 | 0 | Accident | 1 |
| 37 | 12 | 4 | Cleetus Mitchell | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 | 0 | Accident | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||||
Race statistics
- Lead changes: 32 among 12 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 6 for 31 laps
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 2 hours, 6 minutes and 0 seconds
- Average speed: 121.429 miles per hour (195.421 km/h)
Standings after the race
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References
- ^ "2026 schedule". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
- ^ "Daytona International Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
- ^ "NASCAR releases 2026 schedule, adding Chicagoland and shifting All-Star to Dover". NASCAR. August 20, 2025. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
- ^ "Entry list" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. February 12, 2026. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
- ^ "Practice Results" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media. February 12, 2026. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
- ^ "Qualifying Results" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. February 13, 2026. Retrieved February 13, 2026.
- ^ "Starting Lineup" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. February 13, 2026. Retrieved February 13, 2026.
- ^ "Race Results" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. February 13, 2026. Retrieved February 13, 2026.
- ^ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. February 13, 2026. Retrieved February 13, 2026.
- ^ "Chandler Smith steals overtime win in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series opener". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. February 13, 2026. Retrieved February 13, 2026.
- ^ "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. NASCAR Media Group. Archived from the original on August 11, 2010. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
- ^ a b "NASCAR Tracks — The Daytona International Speedway". Speedway Guide. Archived from the original on August 30, 2010. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
- ^ a b "2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Daytona Race Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 13, 2026.
- ^ Srigley, Joseph (February 12, 2026). "Kaden Honeycutt Paces First Practice of 2026 in Defending Champion Truck". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
- ^ "2026 NASCAR Qualifying Procedures". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 13, 2026.
- ^ Srigley, Joseph (February 13, 2026). "Ty Majeski Notches Daytona Pole in First Race Driving No. 88". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved February 13, 2026.