The season-opener at Daytona tends to yield a wild story. As the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series embarked on its first race of 2026, a lot of storylines developed from the four OEMs present. Ram stood out as it marked its first event since Dodge competed in NASCAR back in 2012. However, a rival OEM stole the spotlight during the race – Toyota – but sadly, for the wrong reasons.

NASCAR’s Daytona race lays bare the fissures

“I had a plan. You know, I obviously needed to get by the 11 to win, but he’s my teammate. So I had to push him. I thought I did a good job pushing him out to the lead. Um, the 62 had a big run and was gonna split us. He would have ended up passing us on the bottom with a group of guys, so I had to block it. Obviously, he almost wrecked, came back, and I finished 2nd,” Gio Ruggiero told the press in a post-race interview.

The 19-year-old Tricon Garage driver was pumped to test his mettle in Daytona. His ferocious willpower was visible as Gio Ruggiero lingered in the front row. But by the end of the Fresh from Florida 150 race, Ruggiero got caught in a fierce five-truck battle. Despite his best hopes to emerge victorious from that group, John Hunter Nemechek did not let him. The Cup Series’s Legacy Motor Club driver, also belonging to Toyota, was wheeling the No. 62 Halmar Friesen truck.

John Hunter Nemechek had the lead exiting the final corner, while Gio Ruggiero made an aggressive move to the outside, slamming doors with Christian Eckes. Nemechek tried to defend, chasing them up to the track. But the Cup Series veteran ignored Chandler Smith, a Ford driver who soon completed a four-wide pass. Eventually, Smith beat runner-up Gio Ruggiero to the line by 0.044s, something that Ruggiero attributes to his fellow Toyota driver’s moves.

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“Going into one that one time when I got chopped. And then obviously, down the backstretch, I was pretty sideways,” Gio Ruggiero replied when asked about the number of times he was wrecked.

NASCAR’s Daytona venture almost always turns into a wild ride. The high speeds on the drafting track result in unforeseen crashes and severely damaged cars. But besides Daytona’s chaos, Ruggiero had to think about his fellow OEM drivers’ moves as well.

“I think pretty much any track, but especially Daytona on the last lap, anything goes for a lot of these guys. So, you just gotta be prepared for that and put yourself in the best position to win,” he continued.

Meanwhile, however, Gio Ruggiero can look forward to another shot at acing it in Daytona.

Joining hands with an elite team

Gio Ruggiero turned heads in 2025. The Seekonk, Massachusetts-native picked up seven top-fives, 11 top-10s, and more than 100 laps as a rookie. Most importantly, he collected his first Truck Series race trophy at Talladega in October. So this attracted the attention of Toyota’s elite team in NASCAR, Joe Gibbs Racing, which signed him up for a pair of NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2026.

Gio Ruggiero will wheel the No. 19 First Auto Group Toyota GR Supra at Daytona and Atlanta. So, despite his chaotic fallout in the Truck race in Daytona, Ruggiero will get a chance to possibly win on Saturday. He also competed in the ARCA Menards Series race in Daytona.

“Going into this season, I feel more prepared than ever, and I’m excited to see what we can accomplish. This opportunity allows me to gain valuable experience on the mile-and-a-half and superspeedways, which I can then apply to the truck series. I also have so much fun driving the ARCA cars, and I can’t wait to put the No. 18 up front again,” Ruggiero said.

Clearly, the young Toyota driver is ready for a solid 2026 season. Let’s see what he has in store for us.