Pressley Is King of Daytona Trucks

The Craftsman Trucks are the fastest things running at Daytona International Speedway this week. They’re also the most competitive, and from the looks of Friday’s Florida Dodge Dealers 250, the most entertaining.

In a finish that must have brought smiles to their race sponsor, veteran Winston Cup driver Robert Pressley won after leading a parade of four Dodge trucks that shuffled Rick Carelli out of the lead on the next to last lap.

Pressley, 43, making his first career start in a truck race after more than 20 seasons in Winston Cup and Busch series stock cars, was driving the same Dodge truck that won last year’s Daytona race with Joe Ruttman driving.

“We never thought we could win Daytona with a new team and everything,” Pressley said. “We were just looking to hang around until we got adjusted and make a run in the second half of the season. But Bobby Hamilton gave me a stout truck and I can’t thank him enough.”

Ruttman, 57, who was dropped by the Hamilton Racing team despite finishing third in the series last year, took fourth in a Dodge owned by R.D. Smith, but he has no plans for the remainder of the season. Pole-sitter Ted Musgrave was second and Brian Rose, Pressley’s teammate, was third.

Carelli, in a Chevrolet, was the leader on a restart with two laps remaining, but before the trucks hit the backstretch, Rose helped push Pressley in front. For the remaining lap and a half, there were no lead changes.

“We couldn’t have done it by ourselves,” Pressley said. “I could have gotten beside [Carelli,] but I couldn’t have done anything with him.”

Pressley, winless in 204 Winston Cup races, will start Sunday’s Daytona 500 in the 16th row, alongside Hamilton, his truck owner.

The trucks, which had been running in the 195-mph range during practice, had their speed trimmed a bit Friday by a late rules modification, but they remained faster than the Winston Cup or Busch cars.

There were 26 lead changes among 12 drivers with Pressley leading 50 of the 100 laps.

Busch series cars race today in the EAS/GNC Live Well 300. Joe Nemechek will start on the pole, but most of the interest will center around Dale Earnhardt Jr., who will be driving the No. 3 Chevrolet, the first time his father’s number has been used in a race since the elder Earnhardt died here a year ago.