Parker Kligerman’s victory was short-lived. ⓒ Eryn Harris
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series raced the Fresh From Florida 250 Friday night, kicking off the 2025 season at Daytona International Speedway. After the lingering threat of rain during the afternoon, the trucks had an uninterrupted 100-lap shootout culminating in what was initially a win for Parker Kligerman…before the truck failed inspection for a heights violation.
Just months removed from his retirement from full-time NASCAR racing, Kligerman’s victory started out as an emotional triumph for driver and fans alike. When the announcement came out that Kligerman’s win would instead be awarded to Corey Heim, jubilation gave way to dejection in the Henderson Motorsports camp and with a large portion of the fans in attendance.
As has occurred across several series at Daytona in recent races, Friday night’s showdown ended under caution after a multi-vehicle crash on the final lap. After the field takes the white flag, the running order is frozen at the time of caution. Kligerman’s #75 Chevrolet was the leader at just the right the time, with Heim’s #11 Toyota behind him.
Rookie Toni Breidinger had an up-and-down night on Friday. ⓒ Eryn Harris
“It’s my first time having this kind of scenario happen either way. Certainly glad to be on the right side of it,” Heim said. “Sucks for Parker and those guys. They seemed like they obviously put themselves in position at the right time to win the race, but obviously there’s another level to it after the race.”
When the announcement was made that Kligerman’s win was invalidated, the driver himself had just departed the media center, still holding the checkered flag and a celebratory bottle of bourbon. He adamantly rebuffed an attempt from a NASCAR employee to reclaim the checkered flag, flatly te
Eventual race winner Corey Heim. ⓒ Eryn Harris
lling them there was ‘zero chance’ they’d be taking it back from him.
The race saw a flurry of different leaders in the closing laps, and at no point was it clear that any one driver had the race under their command. The closest to a dominating closer was the effort of 18-year-old Gio Ruggiero, making his Craftsman Truck Series debut. Ruggiero led several laps in his #17 truck before being shuffled back in the running order, ultimately rebounding to a strong third-place finish. “My confidence was up [while leading],” Ruggiero said. “I’m a strong believer in doing whatever it takes to win.”
Actor-turned-racer Frankie Muniz. ⓒ Eryn Harris
Also taking a share of the attention was Frankie Muniz, the former Malcolm in the Middle star who drove to a career-best tenth place finish. Having started racing NASCAR in 2024, Muniz had yet to finish higher than 29th in any national series event. A well-executed strategy propelled the 39-year-old rookie to new heights. “We thought there would be a lot more [incidents],” said Muniz, who largely waited at the tail of the field to avoid multi-truck crashes. “My truck was so fast, I did two laps at 100% throttle…maybe.”
One racer whose night didn’t go according to plan was Toni Breidinger, the California native who’s embarking on her first full season in the Truck Series. Breidinger sustained damage to the front end of her truck, at one point causing her hood to lift up and cover her windshield. “I took away a lot,” the still-optimistic Breidinger said after her 29th-place finish. “I learned a little bit more than I wanted to honestly, I made a lot of mistakes and learned from them.”
- Parker Kligerman – #75 Spiked Coolers Chevrolet (Henderson Motorsports)
- Corey Heim – #11 Safelite Toyota (TRICON Garage)
- Giovanni Ruggiero – #17 JBL Toyota (TRICON Garage)
- Ty Majeski – #98 Soda Sense/Curb Records Ford (ThorSport Racing)
- Grant Enfinger – #9 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet (CR7 Motorsports)
- Justin Haley – #7 Gainbridge Chevrolet (Spire Motorsports)
- Chandler Smith – #38 Long John Silver’s Ford (Front Row Motorsports)
- Daniel Hemric – #19 NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet (McAnally Hilgemann Racing)
- Jason White – #22 United Association Ford (Reaume Brothers Racing)
- William Sawalich – #1 Soundgear Toyota (TRICON Garage)
- Frankie Muniz – #33 The Electric State Ford (Reaume Brothers Racing)
- Timmy Hill – #56 Coble Enterprises/UNITS Toyota (Hill Motorsports)
- Jake Garcia – #13 Quanta Services Ford (ThorSport Racing)
- Layne Riggs – #34 Loves RV Stop Ford (Front Row Motorsports)
- Andres Perez De Lara – #77 Telcel Chevrolet (Spire Motorsports)
- Mason Maggio – #4 Tantillo Auto Group Chevrolet (Hettinger Racing)
- Norm Benning – #6 MDIA/Pennsylvania Speedway Chevrolet (Norm Benning Racing)
- Johnny Sauter – #66 TSport Trucks Ford (ThorSport Racing)
- Spencer Boyd – #76 Tibbetts Lumber Chevrolet (Freedom Racing Enterprises)
- Josh Reaume – #2 Levrack Ford (Reaume Brothers Racing)
- Ben Rhodes – #99 Clark’s/Santa Hill Ranch/Toyon Ranch/TK21 Ford (ThorSport Racing)
- Bayley Currey – #44 Masked Owl Technologies/DQS Chevrolet (Niece Motorsports)
- Tanner Gray – #15 Place of Hope Toyota (TRICON Garage)
- Stewart Friesen – #52 Halmar International Toyota (Halmar Friesen Racing)
- Jack Wood – #91 Adaptive One Calipers Chevrolet (McAnally Hilgemann Racing)
- Dawson Sutton – #26 Rackley Roofing Chevrolet (Rackley W.A.R.)
- Michael McDowell – #07 Go Bowling Chevrolet (Spire Motorsports)
- Matt Crafton – #88 Ideal Door/Menards Ford (ThorSport Racing)
- Toni Breidinger – #5 Raising Cane’s Toyota (TRICON Garage)
- Matt Mills – #42 J.F. Electric/Utilitra Chevrolet (Niece Motorsports)
- Rajah Caruth – #71 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet (Spire Motorsports)
- Nathan Byrd – #02 Sonesta International Hotels Chevrolet (Young’s Motorsports)
- Connor Mosack – #81 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Chevrolet (McAnally Hilgemann Racing)
- Clay Greenfield – #95 Chevrolet (GK Racing)
- Tyler Ankrum – #18 LiUNA! Chevrolet (McAnally Hilgemann Racing)
- Kaden Honeycutt – #45 AutoVentive/Precision Chevrolet (Niece Motorsports)
Pole-sitter Ben Rhodes (99) leads ThorSport Racing teammate Johnny Sauter (66). ⓒ Eryn Harris
