Ken Schrader and his No. 18 Fastenal Dodge Racing Team had high hopes heading into the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season opener, the Chevy Silverado 250 at Daytona International Speedway. The night started out in the right direction as Schrader began to work his way to the front from his 21st starting position.

However, those high hopes evaporated on lap 24 when rookie Joey Clanton was tagged in the rear by Jason White as he made his way to pit road during green flag conditions. The incident created a multi-truck wreck that ended Schrader’s and the No. 18 Fastenal Dodge’s night. Schrader was riding in the outside lane when the wreck started. The contact with the Clanton caused the No. 63 truck to turn right into the path of the No. 36 truck who spun into the No. 18 Fastenal Dodge slamming Schrader into the outside wall in turn four. He finished in the 32nd position.

“The guys gave me a really good truck tonight,” Schrader said in the garage after the wreck. “I knew I was in the danger zone and was doing my best to get out of it. I lost the draft after the last restart for about a lap, but was able to work my way back into the draft very quickly. I am not sure what caused the wreck exactly, all I saw was smoke. This is not how we wanted to start our season in the Fastenal Dodge, but that is Daytona for you. We will head to California next week and go after a better finish.”

No. 18 Fastenal Dodge Daytona Race Recap

• Schrader qualified his Fastenal Dodge in the 21st position during the Thursday night qualifying session. He turned a lap of 174.564 mph around the two-and-a-half mile superspeedway.
• On the opening lap Schrader went to work powering his Fastenal Dodge into the 16th position.
• The first caution waved on lap three for an accident in turn one. “I have a really good piece under me,” said Schrader under the caution. He restarted in the 16th position.
• Several laps later Schrader showed off his veteran driving skills by barely missing Derrike Cope’s spin as he made his way back up the race track into oncoming traffic. The caution waved for the second time of the night on lap 11.
• The Fastenal Dodge came down pit road for the first time while under second caution on lap 14. Crew Chief Jeff White called for fuel only. The Fastenal Racing Team immediately went to work fueling the Dodge Ram and sent Schrader on his way without losing a position on the track. He restarted in the 16th position on lap 17.
• Schrader was running comfortably in the 20th position when disaster struck. Rookie Joey Clanton was black flagged by NASCAR for a loose hood on lap 23. As Clanton made his way to pit road the following lap he was tagged in the rear by No. 63 truck creating a multi-truck wreck. Schrader was riding in the outside lane when the wreck started. The No. 63 truck turned right into the path of the No. 36 truck who spun into the No. 18 Fastenal Dodge slamming Schrader into the outside wall in turn four.
• The damaged sustained in third crash of the evening was too much for the No. 18 Fastenal Dodge Racing Team to repair in the remaining laps of the race.
• Schrader finished the first event of the season in the 32nd position.

Jack Sprague won the Chevy Silverado HD 250 at Daytona. Johnny Benson, Travis Kvapil, Mike Skinner and Todd Bodine rounded out the top five finishers.