DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Chandler Smith got his full-time association with Kyle Busch Motorsports off to a flying start by leading the way during NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice Thursday evening.
Smith topped the charts during the lone 50-minute session with a time of 47.458 seconds (189.641 mph) on his first of 11 laps around the 2.5-mile Daytona Int’l Speedway.
The Jasper, Ga., teenager will chase the Truck Series title this season in the No. 18 Toyota Tundra, as well as his first victory during Friday night’s NextEra Energy Resources 250.
Toyota dominated the day in the Truck Series’ return to the race track, as the manufacturer occupied nine of the top 10 positions at the end of practice Thursday, including a sweep of the top-eight spots.
Smith was trailed on the speed charts by a pair of former Truck Series winners at Daytona.
Austin Hill, driving the No. 16 Toyota Tundra for Hattori Racing Enterprises, was second-quick at 47.465 seconds (189.613 mph). He won the Daytona Truck Series opener two years ago.
Johnny Sauter landed third-fastest (47.477/189.565) in the No. 13 Toyota Tundra for ThorSport Racing, which returned to Toyota this season after three years of fielding Ford F-150s in the Truck Series.
Young guns Drew Dollar and John Hunter Nemechek were fourth and fifth, respectively, for KBM.
Three-time series champion Matt Crafton finished the evening sixth on the board, just ahead of Stewart Friesen and his ThorSport teammate, Grant Enfinger.
Ninth-ranked David Gilliland, driving a Ford F-150, was the first non-Toyota driver in the order, while Ben Rhodes placed 10th to put all four ThorSport Racing entries inside the top 10 for the day.
Ryan Truex was the highest Chevrolet driver in Truck Series practice, sitting 11th on the scoring pylon in the No. 40 Niece Motorsports Silverado.
Notables deeper in the order included 2018 series champion Brett Moffitt (12th), 2012 champion James Buescher (14th), reigning championship runner-up Zane Smith (16th) and defending titlist Sheldon Creed (25th).
Hailie Deegan, making her first Truck Series appearance at Daytona, was 28th quickest.
Qualifying for the NextEra Energy Resources 250 takes place at 3 p.m. Friday afternoon, live on FS1.