By Aaron Bearden, Motorsports Editor
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — David Gilliland’s return to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will come from the front of the field.
Gilliland laid down a 49.017-second lap that averaged 183.610 mph to claim the pole for Friday’s NextEra Energy Resources 250, the season-opening race for the Truck Series. The veteran is making his first NASCAR national series start since 2016. The Californian is filling in for son Todd Gilliland, who won’t be eligible to run the full Truck Series tour until he turns 18 in May.
Johnny Sauter slotted in just behind Gilliland with a speed of 183.184 mph. Clay Greenfield (182.882 mph) surprised the field to claim third, with Dalton Sargeant (182.634 mph) and Noah Gragson (182.545 mph) rounding out the top five. Gragson was the top qualifier among the 10 trucks that were running OEM motors. The top four qualifiers all utilized the Truck Series’ new spec engine en-route to their results.
Matt Crafton (181.932 mph), Grant Enfinger (181.862 mph), Spencer Davis (181.474 mph), Stewart Friesen (181.422 mph) and Cody Coughlin (181.411 mph) completed the top 10.
Failing to qualify for the event were B.J. McLeod, Josh Reaume, Bobby Gerhart and Cody Ware.
Coverage for the NextEra Energy Resources 250 will begin on FOX Sports 1 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
NextEra Energy Resources 250 Starting Lineup
| Pos. | Truck No. | Driver | Manu. | Time | Behind Leader | Speed |
| 1 | 4 | David Gilliland | Toyota | 49.017 | — | 183.610 |
| 2 | 21 | Johnny Sauter | Chevrolet | 49.131 | 0.114 | 183.184 |
| 3 | 68 | Clay Greenfield | Chevrolet | 49.212 | 0.195 | 182.882 |
| 4 | 25 | Dalton Sargeant | Chevrolet | 49.279 | 0.262 | 182.634 |
| 5 | 18 | Noah Gragson | Toyota | 49.303 | 0.286 | 182.545 |
| 6 | 88 | Matt Crafton | Ford | 49.469 | 0.452 | 181.932 |
| 7 | 98 | Grant Enfinger | Ford | 49.488 | 0.471 | 181.862 |
| 8 | 51 | Spencer Davis | Toyota | 49.594 | 0.577 | 181.474 |
| 9 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Chevrolet | 49.608 | 0.591 | 181.422 |
| 10 | 2 | Cody Coughlin | Chevrolet | 49.611 | 0.594 | 181.411 |
| 11 | 2 | Austin Hill | Chevrolet | 49.626 | 0.609 | 181.357 |
| 12 | 24 | Justin Haley | Chevrolet | 49.798 | 0.781 | 180.730 |
| 13 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Chevrolet | 49.732 | 0.715 | 180.970 |
| 14 | 8 | John Hunter Nemechek | Chevrolet | 49.811 | 0.794 | 180.683 |
| 15 | 22 | Austin Wayne Self | Chevrolet | 49.901 | 0.884 | 180.357 |
| 16 | 54 | Bo Lemastus | Toyota | 49.934 | 0.917 | 180.238 |
| 17 | 45 | Justin Fontaine | Chevrolet | 50.046 | 1.029 | 179.835 |
| 18 | 20 | Harrison Rhodes | Chevrolet | 50.057 | 1.040 | 179.795 |
| 19 | 7 | Korbin Forrister | Toyota | 50.083 | 1.066 | 179.702 |
| 20 | 13 | Myatt Snider | Ford | 50.109 | 1.092 | 179.608 |
| 21 | 47 | Chris Fontaine | Chevrolet | 50.214 | 1.197 | 179.233 |
| 22 | 16 | Brett Moffitt | Toyota | 50.238 | 1.221 | 179.147 |
| 23 | 28 | Bryan Dauzat | Chevrolet | 50.273 | 1.256 | 179.023 |
| 24 | 41 | Ben Rhodes | Ford | 50.283 | 1.266 | 178.987 |
| 25 | 15 | Robby Lyons | Chevrolet | 50.507 | 1.490 | 178.193 |
| 26 | 75 | Parker Kligerman | Chevrolet | 50.919 | 1.902 | 176.751 |
| 27 | 10 | Jennifer Jo Cobb | Chevrolet | 51.074 | 2.057 | 176.215 |
| 28 | 3 | Jordan Anderson | Toyota | 51.273 | 2.256 | 175.531 |
| 29 | 6 | Norm Benning | Chevrolet | 51.728 | 2.711 | 173.987 |
| 30 | 49 | Wendell Chavous | Chevrolet | 52.046 | 3.029 | 172.924 |
| 31 | 83 | Scott Stenzel | Chevrolet | 52.171 | 3.154 | 172.510 |
| 32 | 50 | Travis Kvapil | Chevrolet | 52.663 | 3.646 | 170.898 |