When NASCAR announced plans to take its short-track-based pickup truck series to the high banks of Daytona International Speedway for the first time in 2000, not everybody was so sure that was a great idea. Three-time series champion Ron Hornaday called it crazy.

"When the Trucks first came here, I didn't get a chance to run it," Hornaday said. "But when I heard they were coming down, I thought they were nuts. It was the stupidest thing they've ever done with the Trucks."

By the Numbers

In 2003, Rick Crawford (14) edged Travis Kvapil (16) by .027 seconds for the closest Truck finish at Daytona. Crawford also holds another series distinction at Daytona.

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But after one of the most exciting races in Daytona's history -- which included a record number of lead changes, a frightening accident that sent Geoff Bodine to the hospital, and a trip to Victory Lane for Mike Wallace -- Hornaday changed his opinion.

"The following year, I got an opportunity with Ricky Hendrick, took a truck out of the showroom floor, came down here and didn't run 10 laps before I got out and praised Wayne [Auton, series director] and his team for what they've done to make these trucks so comfortable to drive around this speedway," he said.

And since then, nine different drivers have won the Daytona season opener, several by no more than the length of a bumper in three-wide finishes. And Friday night's NextEra Energy Resources 250 (7:30 p.m. ET, SPEED), which begins the Camping World Truck Series era, should be no exception.

"It's hard to believe it's been 10 years already," Auton said. "Everybody remembers the first race we had here because we put a little bit of excitement on. I think it was Mike Wallace who started the grandstand, middle-of-the-race break autograph session, which was pretty neat for the fans."

A little excitement might be an understatement. Twelve drivers led at least one lap in the 200 race, which included a pair of multi-truck wrecks before the big one on Lap 57. Rookie Kurt Busch tapped Rob Morgan, who sent Bodine's truck nearly head-on over the 4-foot high concrete wall, tearing out a large section of the catchfence and sending what remained of the vehicle cartwheeling back through the infield grass.

'I've never had a wreck like that in my life,'' Bodine said.

Bodine broke his ankle, wrist and cheekbone. A total of nine fans were injured by the debris, the most serious being a broken arm. And the race was halted while safety crews repaired the fence, giving Wallace and several other drivers a chance to sign autographs for fans.

When the race resumed, Wallace beat Busch and Andy Houston to the line by .237 seconds.

In 2001, pole-sitter Joe Ruttman held off Hendrick and Scott Riggs in a green-white-checkered finish. The following year, Robert Pressley chased down Rick Carelli with two laps remaining to win.

“

It's always cool to get down to about 10 to go and really see these guys do their job, when it's three-wide all the way around.

”

WAYNE AUTON

The 2003 race might have been the best ever, as Pressley, Travis Kvapil and Rick Crawford all came to the final lap with one thing on their minds: be first across the stripe. Crawford had the lead as the three took the white flag, but Pressley grabbed the advantage on the backstretch.

However, Crawford somehow regained his momentum and as Pressley went to block high, dropped his truck to the inside. Kvapil then made it three-wide at the line as Crawford won by .027 seconds.

"They moved the start/finish line too far down, I guess," Pressley said.

After Carl Edwards got to perform his backflip after winning the 2004 race, the 2005 edition found two drivers trying to share space in Victory Lane. Jimmy Spencer and Bobby Hamilton were racing for the win when an eight-truck crash broke out behind the leaders. Spencer took the checkered flag first and thought he had won the race, but Hamilton was in front when the yellow lights came on -- which immediately freezes the running order.

So Spencer's victory celebration was cut short, and Hamilton's began.

"I just knew when the lights came on I was in front," Hamilton said.

It was Mark Martin's turn to take the checkered flag in 2006. And the past two races have once again featured side-by-side finishes, as Jack Sprague edged Johnny Benson and Kvapil to win in 2007, and Todd Bodine nosed out Kyle Busch and Benson in 2008.

"When you come to Daytona, it's our Super Bowl," Bodine said. "It's what we all strive to get our name in the record book. You got a Daytona win, you're something different. You got that name in the book. To be able to finally get that last year, it meant a lot. It meant a lot to me. I think it was 34 tries to finally get it in there, and we did it."

It's a testament to Auton and his staff that the racing has been competitive without compromising safety.

"We've tried different configurations to make sure the trucks are stable," Auton said. "We've got different aero packages on them from the time we first came here to the current date, and they still punch such a big hole in the air that it makes for such exciting racing.

"It's always cool to get down to about 10 to go and really see these guys do their job, when it's three-wide all the way around. We've had a couple of finishes like that, with the winner being [determined] right at the finish line."

And if the previous nine races are any indication, the finish to Race No. 10 should be just as thrilling.