DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Qualifying for the third annual Florida Dodge Dealers 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race proved to be a pleasure for Steve Portenga and the Roto-Rooter Racing team. Portenga posted the 16th-quickest lap in time trials for the event Tuesday, February 12 at the Daytona International Speedway. Portenga's No. 39 Chevrolet Silverado toured the 2.5-mile superspeedway in 49.028 seconds (183.569 miles per hour). Ted Musgrave won the pole with a lap in 48.073 seconds (187..215).
"It was good," Portenga said of the effort. "That's what we felt we could go and that's what we did. It's a big relief off my shoulders. To run a lap that put us in 16th, I'll take it."
With qualifying completed, practice for the truck series season-opener shifts to race preparation. The remaining 36 trucks that made the field, of 47 that attempted to qualify, will practice in high-speed drafting formation Wednesday and Thursday.
The Florida Dodge Dealers 250 is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday, February 15 and telecast live on ESPN.
