Todd Bodine Wins Daytona Truck Race; Canadian Fitzpatrick Leads, Takes 4th

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Todd Bodine became the first driver to win multiple NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events at Daytona International Speedway Friday night, but a 20-year-old Canadian driver nearly stole the show.

J.R. Fitzpatrick -- a contender for 2009 Rookie of the Year in the Truck Series -- led 17 laps late in the event before finishing fourth in his first ever NASCAR restrictor plate race after making just three starts in 2008.

He might have even led the most important one had the race been scheduled for a few more miles.

Fitzpatrick took the lead on lap 71 of the 100 lap event while the race was under caution, and when the green flag came back out, he led a single-file pack of trucks with Kyle Busch's Toyota drafting closely off his bumper.

After the race, Fitzpatrick talked about the novelty of seeing Busch -- a racer he's watched on television -- in his rear-view mirror.

"I was going down the straightaway saying 'This is sooo cool," said Fitzpatrick with a laugh. "I watch Kyle Busch, you know, all these guys, every weekend."

That, Fitzpatrick said, led to a heavy dose of nerves.

"I was really nervous on the first restart," said the native of Ontario. "But then I said if I'm going to keep being nervous, then I'm probably going to end up screwing up. I calmed myself down, focused on keeping it at the bottom."

Fitzpatrick got shuffled back somewhat after getting passed by Busch and Colin Braun, but was able to make up ground after his team was one of a few that opted for fresh tires during a debris caution that left six laps to go. From there, Fitzpatrick drafted back to his fourth-place finish.

As for Bodine, though, his second-straight win in the Truck Series season-opener got off to an ominous start.

First, Bodine was black-flagged by NASCAR for driving below the yellow line -- something NASCAR enforced very strictly -- for a pass-through penalty during green flag conditions. Later, he tapped the rear-end of James Buescher coming out of the tri-oval, setting off the race's biggest crash of 9 trucks.

However, Bodine battled back in his unsponsored Toyota to finish off the night by leading the final 11 laps and holding off a charge by Kyle Busch heading into Turn 3. Busch got a run on Bodine down the backstetch and slammed his rear bumper, barely loosening up Bodine's truck but killing the momentum of Busch's No. 51.

After the race, he called the move a mistake.

"I guess the last lap I screwed up once again this year," Busch said. "Last year, I did the same thing – can't time it right, can't get the timing going. I keep planning the last five laps in a row to try to get it. Thought I had an idea about it."

"Again, screwed up this year."

Fortunately, Busch has two more races this weekend at Daytona to make up for his mistake.