DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Johnny Sauter was taken out on the final lap at Daytona International Speedway last year.
On Friday night, another late wreck helped him get to victory lane.
Sauter caught a break when defending series champion James Buescher crashed on the final lap of the Trucks Series opener, bringing out a caution that prevented veteran Kyle Busch from making a last-lap move on the leader.
Instead, Sauter cruised to victory.
"I was having flashbacks of last year," said Sauter, who was turned by race winner John King in 2012. "
Ryan Truex, 20, from Stafford Township, N.J., finished 28th after getting caught up in a 13-truck wreck.
Ron Hornaday Jr. was third, followed by Justin Lofton, rookie Jeb Burton and Ty Dillon.
Buescher finished 13th, one spot behind highly touted rookie Darrell Wallace Jr.
Thirteen trucks were involved in the biggest wreck. Brendan Gaughan tried to squeeze between pole-sitter Brennan Newberry and fellow rookie German Quiroga in turn three.
It failed miserably.
All three trucks slid into the outside wall, setting off a melee that collected about a dozen others. Burton, Truex, Tim George Jr., John Wes Townley and Jason White were among the 13 trucks involved.
After six laps of caution and lots of cleanup, the race restarted.
The fifth yellow set up the frantic finish.
Truex and Buescher were making a run toward the front on the outside lane when Truex's left-front tire started to go flat.
Truex started to slow down and make his way to the bottom of the track, but he got sideways and collected several others.
"We saw a couple of crashes," Busch said. "That's part of the game. Everybody is fighting for the front, but there's only those guys up there that can be up there."k
