{"id":7369,"date":"2017-02-24T23:07:51","date_gmt":"2017-02-25T05:07:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=7369"},"modified":"2017-02-24T23:07:51","modified_gmt":"2017-02-25T05:07:51","slug":"rookie-kaz-grala-avoid-last-lap-incident-wins-nextera-energy-resources-250","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/24\/rookie-kaz-grala-avoid-last-lap-incident-wins-nextera-energy-resources-250\/","title":{"rendered":"Rookie Kaz Grala avoid last-lap incident, wins NextEra Energy Resources 250"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kaz Grala, driver of the #33 KiklosGreekExtraVirginOliveOil Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway on February 24, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jerry Markland\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.<\/strong> \u2013 Rookie driver Kaz Grala guided his truck through, then past a last-lap incident involving 13 trucks to win an action-filled NextEra Energy Resources 250 on Friday night at Daytona International Speedway, to open the season for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.<\/p>\n

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Kaz Grala, driver of the #33 KiklosGreekExtraVirginOliveOil Chevrolet, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway on February 24, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Grala, an 18-year-old who started on the pole in the No. 33 Kiklos Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil Chevrolet, emerged from the backstretch incident that ruined a dominating effort by Grala\u2019s teammate, defending race champion \u2013 and reigning series champion \u2013 Johnny Sauter (No. 21 Allegiant Travel Chevrolet). Sauter led 52 laps of the 100-lap race, in the process also winning the race\u2019s first two \u201cstages\u201d \u2013 in the debut of NASCAR\u2019s new national-series format that divides races into three stages and awards points for each stage. Friday\u2019s stages were 20, 20 and 60 laps.<\/p>\n

Sauter was passed for the lead by former series champion Matt Crafton at the start of the final lap. Crafton was slightly ahead on the backstretch when multi-car contact sent his No. 88 Goof Off\/Menards Toyota airborne, into a full flip \u2013 but then landing upright. Sauter, caught up in the incident, finished 15th.<\/p>\n

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Kaz Grala, driver of the #33 KiklosGreekExtraVirginOliveOil Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway on February 24, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Grala is the youngest Daytona International Speedway winner of a NASCAR national series race \u2013 18 years, one month, 26 days. He was followed to the flag by Austin Wayne Self (No. 32 AM Technical Solutions Toyota) and another rookie, Chase Briscoe (No. 29 Cooper Standard Ford).<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw coming out of Turn 2 it was getting crazy,\u201d Grala said. \u201cThere wasn\u2019t going to be any way I was going to be lifting. I just went low, closed by eyes and crossed my fingers and luckily it worked out \u2026 it was pretty hectic.\u201d<\/p>\n

There were two practice sessions on Friday for the 59th annual DAYTONA 500, set for Sunday. The starting grid for the DAYTONA 500 had been finalized Thursday night via the Can-Am Duel, the annual pair of 150-mile qualifying races for \u201cThe Great American Race.\u201d Chase Elliott (No. 24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet) and two-time DAYTONA 500 champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet) qualified 1-2 in the DAYTONA 500 Qualifying Presented By Kroger on Feb. 19 to lock in front-row positions. The Can-Am Duel established the field beyond the front row.<\/p>\n

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Kaz Grala, driver of the #33 KiklosGreekExtraVirginOliveOil Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane by putting a winner’s sticker on his truck during the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway on February 24, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jerry Markland\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

David Ragan (No. 38 Camping World Ford) posted the fastest lap in the first practice, 194.898 mph. Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe\u2019s Chevrolet) \u2013 a two-time DAYTONA 500 champion and seven-time champion of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series \u2013 had the best average speed for 10 consecutive laps on the 2.5-mile tri-oval, 192.731.<\/p>\n

The second practice was led by a 197.265-mph lap from former Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M\u2019s Toyota). Series rookie Erik Jones (No. 77 5-hour Energy Extra Strength Toyota) led the 10-consecutive lap averages at 195.933.<\/p>\n

Final practice for the DAYTONA 500 is scheduled for Saturday from 12:30 p.m.-1:55 p.m.<\/p>\n

Also Friday, two practices were held for Saturday\u2019s PowerShares QQQ 300, the season-opening event for the NASCAR XFINITY Series. Justin Allgaier (193.890 mph) and JJ Yeley (187.005) had the respective fastest laps. Qualifying for the event is set for 10:30 a.m. Saturday, with the race at 3:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

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Kaz Grala, driver of the #33 KiklosGreekExtraVirginOliveOil Chevrolet, leads the field at the start of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway on February 24, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Tickets for the 59th annual DAYTONA 500 and other Speedweeks events can be purchased online at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP. Fans can stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube andSnapchat, and by downloading Daytona International Speedway\u2019s mobile app, for the latest Speedway news throughout the season.<\/p>\n

Story courtesy of Daytona International Speedway Media Relations.  Photos courtesy of NASCAR.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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Johnny Sauter, driver of the #21 Allegiant Travel Chevrolet, leads a pack of trucks during the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway on February 24, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

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Austin Cindric, driver of the #19 Draw-Tite\/Reese Brands Ford, spins during the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway on February 24, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

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Christopher Bell, driver of the #4 JBL Toyota, pits as officials indicate 5 minutes to fix the vehicle during the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway on February 24, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. \u2013 Rookie driver Kaz Grala guided his truck through, then past a last-lap incident involving 13 trucks to win an action-filled NextEra Energy Resources 250 on Friday night at Daytona International Speedway, to open the season for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Grala, an 18-year-old who started on the pole in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7377,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[16,160],"class_list":["post-7369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-nascar","tag-nascar-camping-world-truck-series"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/DIS_NCWTS_Sticker_022417.jpg?fit=5760%2C3840","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-1UR","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7369"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7379,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7369\/revisions\/7379"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}