Good start for Toyota
As Toyota waits to make its debut in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and Daytona 500, the Truck Series guys gave Toyota something to celebrate Friday night.
Jack Sprague became the first driver to win at Daytona with a Toyota-powered entry. He and fellow Toyota driver Johnny Benson bumped and pushed their way past Travis Kvapil's Ford to win the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season opener.
“I can’t thank Johnny Benson enough; he won this race for me," Sprague said. "We got a run off (Turn) 4 and he hit me so hard my teeth fell out. It shot me right by (Kvapil) and as a result he was able to shoot by Travis, barely. That was pretty cool that Johnny finished second because if it weren’t for him hitting me like he did, I would have never won this race.”
While Sprague was grateful for Benson's help, he was also happy to be the first Toyota driver to win a race at Daytona.
"Selfishly, I think it’s really cool," Sprague said. "I mean, it will always be in the record book that I was the first one to drive a Toyota and win at Daytona. I knew Toyota would win Daytona. I just never thought Jack Sprague would.”
Kvapil ended up being the hard-luck loser of the race. He led 49 of the 100 laps, but with a pair of Toyotas working together on the last lap, he had little chance of winning.
“I’ve been here before and I knew that was going to happen,” Kvapil said. “I’m disappointed. I don’t know how I could have done it any better. I guess I could have tried blocking Sprague better, but I thought we would have wrecked."