"Considering how unpredictable and wild things can be during the race at Daytona, we felt fortunate to come out of there with the finish we did, and with our truck in one piece," Howard said.  "All of the buildup to Daytona, all of the excitement and anticipation, was incredible, but it's nice to put it behind me and hopefully settle into a rhythm beginning at California."

Saturday's race will be Howard's first at California.  "I'm not real familiar with the track, but I know there's lots of room to race," said the driver of the No. 13 ThorSport Racing Silverado. "Matt (teammate Crafton) will be helpful to me in that regard, as far as advice.  He knows the track well, and knows these trucks and what we need out here to be successful.  It's a huge help to be able to turn to him for his input.  All of our guys worked really well together last week, and it will only continue to get better.  I know the NCTS always puts on a great show at California, and I know the fans are great out here.  I'm excited to be a part of it.  Hopefully, we can come out with a top-10 finish and really get things rolling."