Grala wins wild Trucks opener

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Rookie driver Kaz Grala won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season opener Friday night, making his way through a massive wreck on the final lap at Daytona International Speedway to do so. The 18-year-old Grala became the youngest winner in a NASCAR national series at Daytona, though he was lucky to even make it to the checkered flag. Two-time series champion Matt Crafton was leading the 100-lap race when he got turned sideways and went for a wild ride that included several spins and a harrowing flip. Crafton’s No. 88 Toyota landed on all four tires, and he was able to walk away unscathed. “Oh my gosh, someone flipped,” Grala said as he watched a replay of the ending. Grala managed to escape the carnage, and considering it was his first victory in 10 starts in the series, he had no idea what to do next. “I didn’t know what I was doing out there,” he said. “I didn’t know how to do a doughnut. I’m Polish, so I figured I could drive backward.” Only 13 of 32 trucks finished on the lead lap, but even that doesn’t properly explain the all the damage done in a little more than two hours. NASCAR Cup Series star Dale Earnhardt Jr. posted a picture on his Twitter page of two sailors shoveling money into a furnace with the caption “quick recap of tonight’s action.” More than half the field was involved in accidents, fairly routine at Daytona. Seventeen trucks were involved in a huge wreck on the second lap, knocking out a number of contenders. But the final pileup was the scariest. “It was hectic,” said Chase Briscoe, who finished third in his first Truck Series start. “This kind of racing will make your hair go white.” Austin Wayne Self was second. John Hunter Nemechek was fourth, just ahead of his dad, Joe.

BASKETBALL

› ATLANTA — The Atlanta Hawks suspended starting point guard Dennis Schroder for one game Friday for failing to return to the team on time following the All-Star break. Schroder was not with the team for Friday night’s home game against the Miami Heat, with rookie Malcolm Delaney making his first career start in Schroder’s place. Schroder returned to his native Germany for the break and posted a photo on his Twitter feed on Thursday in which he was holding his visa, with a message referencing the fact that problems obtaining a visa on his new passport led to difficulty returning to the United States. Schroder, who has averaged 17.5 points per game this season, is tied for 13th in the league with 6.3 assists per game. He is expected to rejoin the team for tonight’s game at Orlando.

› CAMDEN, N.J. — Ben Simmons won’t make his NBA debut this season. His surgically repaired right foot hasn’t healed sufficiently for the No. 1 overall pick to play in the final 26 games, the team said Friday. Simmons fractured the fifth metatarsal bone during the final training camp scrimmage in October and hasn’t played a game. A CT scan Thursday revealed his foot hasn’t fully healed. The 6-foot-10, 250-pound Australian, Philadelphia’s first No. 1 overall pick since Allen Iverson in 1996, was going to play point forward.

FOOTBALL

› BOSTON — Tom Brady: The Movie? A new book and a major motion picture are in the works about the New England Patriots’ star quarterback and the “Deflategate” suspension he overcame to earn an unprecedented fifth Super Bowl ring. Bestselling author Casey Sherman and Boston writer Dave Wedge are collaborating on the book under the working title “Let’s Go!” — Brady’s rallying cry. The pair co-authored “Boston Strong,” which helped inspire “Patriots Day,” a 2017 Lionsgate release starring Mark Wahlberg about the deadly 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. Sherman’s novel, “The Finest Hours,” about the Coast Guard’s 1952 rescue of 30 crewmen aboard a sinking tanker off Cape Cod, also was made into a movie released by Walt Disney Pictures last year starring Chris Pine and Casey Affleck. Sherman is working with Academy Award-nominated screenwriters Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson on the book and film about Brady “and his team’s miraculous come-from-behind win” over the Atlanta Falcons at Super Bowl LI this month in Houston.