The 2011 NextEra Energy Resources 250 was a

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

Camping World Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...

race held at

Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NA ...

Daytona Beach Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County near the Atlantic coastline, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 census. Daytona Beach is approximately nort ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

on February 18, 2011. The race was the first of the

2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series The 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series was the seventeenth season of the third highest stock car racing in the United States. The season included twenty-five races, beginning with the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International ...

Austin Dillon Austin Reed Dillon (born April 27, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver and reality TV show actor. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing. ...

Richard Childress Racing Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by Richard ...

won the

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...

, while

Michael Waltrip Michael Curtis Waltrip (born April 30, 1963) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, racing commentator, and published author. He competes full time in the Camping World Superstar Racing Experience. He is the younger brother o ...

Vision Aviation Racing Billy Ballew Motorsports was a team that competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. They were formed in 1996 by Georgia businessman Billy Ballew. Fasscore Motorsports In 2003, Ballew began running a second truck under the name Fasscor ...

won.

Qualifying

46 trucks entered the race.

Todd Bodine Todd Martin Bodine (born February 27, 1964) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 62 Toyota Tundra for Halmar Friesen Racing, and current racing a ...

led the first practice session with a top speed of , while

Cole Whitt Cole Daniel Whitt (born June 22, 1991) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. After advancing his way through Kart racing, Whitt moved up to sprint cars and became a development driver for Team Red Bull. After running in the K ...

led the second and final with a speed of . Qualifying was held on February 17.

clinched the

with a lap speed of , his eighth-career Truck Series pole. Following Dillon was

James Buescher James H. Buescher (born March 26, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He is the 2012 Truck Series champion. After parting ways with NTS Motorsports in 2015, Buescher became a real estate agent. He owns and operates his ow ...

Ron Hornaday Jr. Ronald Lee Hornaday Jr. (born June 20, 1958) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He is the father of former NASCAR driver Ronnie Hornaday and son of the late Ron Hornaday Sr., a two-time Winston West Champion. Hornaday is ...

, Ricky Carmichael and rookie

Johanna Long Johanna Robbins (; born May 26, 1992) is an American professional stock car racing driver. She is the winner of the 2010 Snowball Derby. Racing career Background Long's father raced late models and she wanted to start racing karts when she was ...

, while the top ten closed with

Elliott Sadler Elliott William Barnes Sadler (born April 30, 1975) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing. Sadler is one of 36 dr ...

Matt Crafton Matthew Justin Crafton (born June 11, 1976) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He is a three-time champion of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (2013, 2014, 2019), in which he competes full-time, driving the No. 88 Ford F-150 ...

Joey Coulter Joseph Coulter (born June 8, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver. Racing career Early career A native of Miami Springs, Florida, Coulter started his racing career in 1998, racing go-karts at West Coast Kart way in Naples, Fl ...

Johnny Sauter Jonathan Joseph "Johnny" Sauter (born May 1, 1978) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 47 Toyota Tundra for G2G Racing, the No. 13 Tundra for Th ...

and

Brad Sweet Bradley Sweet (born December 31, 1985) is an American professional race car driver and a veteran of the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, driving the No. 49 for Kasey Kahne Racing, where he has earned the nickname 'The Big Cat'. Sweet was former ...

Nelson Piquet Jr. Nelson Angelo Tamsma Piquet Souto Maior (born July 25, 1985), also known as Nelson Piquet Junior or Nelsinho Piquet, is a Brazilian stock car racing driver and former Formula One and Formula E driver where he was champion in the 2014–15 seaso ...

initially qualified fourth, but, along with

Aric Almirola Aric Michael Almirola (born March 14, 1984) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 10 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. A graduate of Hillsborough High School in T ...

, were disqualified after post-qualifying inspection when it was revealed that their trucks were too low, and were forced to start from the rear. Rick Crawford, Cole Whitt, Tayler Malsam, Chris Eggleston, Alli Owens, Mike Skinner, Jamie Dick, Brent Raymer,

Grant Enfinger Grant McArthur Enfinger (born January 22, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 23 Chevrolet Silverado for GMS Racing. Before moving up to the Truck S ...

and

Clay Greenfield Clayton Michael Greenfield (born June 3, 1984) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 84 Toyota Tundra for Cook Racing Technologies. Racing career A gradua ...

failed to qualify. Although Skinner was eligible for the past champion's provisional, due to being the 1995 series champion, his team,

Eddie Sharp Racing Sharp Gallaher Racing (formerly known as Eddie Sharp Racing) is a disbanded NASCAR team based in Mooresville, North Carolina that competed in the ARCA Racing Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The team fielded the No. 6 Chevrolet ...

, failed to enter the race in time.

Race

led the first 55 laps, and on lap 37, rookie

cut down a tire and crashed into the turn 2 wall, bringing out the first caution of the race. On the second caution for

Donnie Neuenberger Donnie Neuenberger (born August 10, 1962) is an American professional stock car racing driver. Neuenberger is a cancer survivor. During the 2004 season, he was diagnosed after nerves were pinched by the tumor during a race. Racing career NASCAR ...

's bed cover falling off the truck in turn 4,

Timothy Peters Timothy J. Peters (born August 29, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 25 Chevrolet Silverado for Rackley WAR. He was a member of the Bob ...

took the lead after taking only fuel on lap 56, followed by Ricky Carmichael and Buescher. On lap 66,

Justin Marks Justin Marks (born March 25, 1981) is an American racing driver, entrepreneur, and current owner of Trackhouse Racing Team in the NASCAR Cup Series. He last competed in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, driving the No. 93 for Meyer Shank R ...

' hood loosened and covered the windshield, causing him to crash into turn 1. The green flag flew from lap 70 to 75, when

Travis Kvapil Travis Wade Kvapil ( ; born March 1, 1976) is an American professional stock car driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series, driving the No. 1 Chevrolet Silverado for Beaver Motorsports. He was the 2003 NASCAR ...

's tire blew and hit five trucks, while Neuenberger, who was running in the back, failed to slow down in time and collided with other trucks; altogether, 14 trucks (Kvapil, Neuenberger,

Max Papis Massimiliano "Max" Papis (born 3 October 1969) is an Italian professional motorsport driver who has competed in several top-level motorsports events such as Le Mans 24 Hours, Formula One and Champ Car. He has three Champ Car victories. He is the ...

Justin Lofton Justin Lofton (born February 18, 1986) is an American professional off-road racing driver. He also competes in stock car racing, driving part-time in the ARCA Menards Series West in the No. 30 Ford for Rette Jones Racing. Lofton formerly competed ...

Brendan Gaughan William Brendan Gaughan (born July 10, 1975) is an American professional racing driver who has competed in off-road and stock cars. He is the grandson of Vegas gaming pioneer Jackie Gaughan and son of Michael Gaughan, a hotel and casino magnate. ...

, T. J. Bell, Jason White,

Craig Goess Craig Goess Jr. (born April 14, 1981) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He competed for Eddie Sharp Racing for the entirety of his NASCAR and ARCA career. Most recently, he drove in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series i ...

and

Jennifer Jo Cobb Jennifer Jo Cobb (born June 12, 1973) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. She competes part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 10 Chevrolet Silverado for her own team, Jennifer Jo Cobb Raci ...

) were involved. On lap 85, the caution was flown after Lofton crashed into David Starr. The green flag flew from lap 89 to 97, when

collided with

, creating a nine-truck crash also involving

, Papis,

Kyle Busch Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-t ...

, Parker Kligerman, Bodine,

Chris Fontaine Christopher Fontaine (born December 1, 1981) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He has competed in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, driving in 59 races, most notably for Glenden Enterprises. He is known for ...

and Buescher. As a result, officials stopped the race for ten minutes to clean up, and the 100-lap race was extended to initiate a green-white-checker finish. Sometime during the lap under caution before the final restart, the right half of Waltrip's rear spoiler collapsed and fell flat, greatly reducing the aerodynamic drag on his truck that the spoiler is designed to do at Daytona, to limit top speed and encourage drafting. This suddenly gave his truck a prohibitive advantage. On the final lap, Waltrip pushed

far ahead of the pack, and with his illegally advantaged truck, easily passed him on his outside in the final yards to claim his first Truck Series win, becoming the 22nd driver to win in all three of NASCAR's top series (

Sprint Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971 ...

Nationwide Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

and Trucks). The win was on the ten-year anniversary of Waltrip's first career NASCAR Cup Series win in the 2001 Daytona 500, which was also the site of Waltrip's

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...

owner

Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr. (; April 29, 1951February 18, 2001) was an American professional stock car driver and team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably dri ...

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

Clay Rogers Clayton Rogers (born November 6, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He has competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series, and is the 2004, 2006, 2009, and 2010 champion in the ...

, Miguel Paludo and Kyle Busch rounded out the top five, followed by Cobb (the highest finish by a

woman A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

in the Truck Series, and the first top 10 by a female in NASCAR's top three series),

Jeffrey Earnhardt Jeffrey Lynn Earnhardt (born June 22, 1989) is an American professional stock car racing driver who competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 44 Chevrolet Camaro for Alpha Prime Racing. He is the son of Kerry Earnhardt, gran ...

, Carmichael, Buescher and Crafton.

Post-race

In victory lane, Waltrip stated: Afterwards, NASCAR confiscated Waltrip's rear spoiler, half of it having fallen; NASCAR reported it to be a failure, but continued to examine it. NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp stated, "It appeared to be a failed part. The spoiler broke on the green-white-checkered finish. Our typical procedure is, instead of having an immediate reaction, we'll take a look and, if necessary, we'll have whatever reaction is appropriate the first of the week." Eventually, the team was revealed to have "violated Sections 12–1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing), 12-4-J (any determination by NASCAR officials that the race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules), and 20B-3.1.2E (rear spoiler did not meet specifications in post-race inspection)".

owner

Billy Ballew Billy Ballew Motorsports was a team that competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. They were formed in 1996 by Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia businessman Billy Ballew. Fasscore Motorsports In 2003, Ballew began running a second truck u ...

was penalized 25 owner points, while crew chief

Doug Howe Doug is a male personal name (or, depending on which definition of "personal name" one uses, part of a personal name). It is sometimes a given name (or "first name"), but more often it is hypocorism (affectionate variation of a personal name) which ...

was fined $25,000, and was placed on probation for the remainder of the year. As Waltrip was not competing for Truck Series points, he was not penalized any drivers points.

Results

Qualifying

Race results

Standings after the race

References

{{Reflist 2011 in sports in Florida

NextEra Energy Resources 250 The NextEra Energy 250 is the first race of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season at Daytona International Speedway and as of 2004 has been held under the lights. It is the Truck Series event of Speedweeks – the series of races leading u ...

NASCAR races at Daytona International Speedway

Qualifying

Race

Post-race

Results

Qualifying

Race results

Standings after the race

See also

References