No qualifying. No practice. No problem for Chandler Smith.
The driver of the Front Row Motorsports/Quick Tie Ford F-150 started third based on points, after rain postponed qualifying and practice on Friday afternoon at Bristol. Smith kept his Ford at or near the front and out of trouble to take the win in an exciting Friday night NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Smith outdueled Cup Series regular Kyle Larson in the final seven laps, to claim his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory of the season, his second at the 0.533-mile short track and the sixth of his career.
Smith’s victory by 0.934 seconds over Larson ended the latter’s quest for a weekend sweep of NASCAR’s three national series races. Even though Larson had 27-lap fresher tires than the race winner for a restart on Lap 244 of 250, he could do no better than second.
”This truck was running on a damn rail tonight,” replied Smith in post-race comments, acknowledging he didn’t know where he was going to be this season until getting the call from Front Row. While beating Kyle Larson might be special to some, the real credit goes to this team.
“These guys (the Front Row pit crew), they were the ones that made this possible.”
Smith also won the $50,000 Triple Truck Challenge bonus that goes to the highest-finishing NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular.
The ride to the front started on Lap 10 for Smith as he took the lead from polesitter Daniel Hemric, sending Hemric toward the back of the racing field when by Lap 17, the first caution came out as driver Connor Mosack spun after misjudging his position on the track. Mosack’s truck received no damage running 19th before the spin.
Hemric continued his slide through the field landing in the eighth position and with complaints that his NAPA Chevy Silverado was too loose.
The next caution came out on Lap 45, as Frankie Muniz went one lap down despite running as high as 27th before getting caught up in contact with Ty Majeski, also causing Stewart Friesen to get damage.
Smith would stay at or near the front to take the Stage One victory and points.
On Lap 79, Rajah Carruth, in the 71 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, got spun from behind but received no damage. That spin would mark a turnaround for Carruth and a march to the front as Bailey Currey in the 44 Masked Owl Technologies Chevrolet would win Stage Two, with Smith once again hovering near the front, finishing in second and Kaden Honeycutt finished third in Stage Two.
By Lap 143, Carruth put his Chevrolet out front and took the lead. By Lap 161, Toni Breidinger in the TRICON Toyota got hit from behind, crumpling up the truck bed and ending a promising run.
A pit road penalty on Kyle Larson for speeding would put the Cup Series regular one lap down but it would not be long before Larson got back on the lead lap and began fighting for position through the field. In the meantime, Larson’s HendrickCars.com fellow driver Carruth would surrender the lead to a hard charging Corey Heim.
Heim, who is winless in 2025 but has led laps in all six races, would take the lead with 28 to go with Smith continuing to stay close to the front in second and Stage Two winner Bailey Currey challenging in third.
Another caution for a spin and raindrops with 23 to go, Bailey Currey would see his hopes of a top five or top ten finish after a stage win in segment two. Transmission failure for Currey with 13 to go would end his race.
Smith retook the lead from eventual third-place finisher Corey Heim just before a caution flag flew on Lap 237 for Andres Perez’s spin on the backstretch. That gave Smith control of the race for the final restart, and he promptly asserted himself from the top lane.
“We fell back on that long run in the second stage—got super tight,” said Larson, who pitted on Lap 162 for fresh rubber after putting 27 laps on the tires he got on Lap 135 during the stage break. “Then I sped on pit road (Larson received a pit road speeding penalty), but on that next stop, I think that probably helped us.
“We had a little bit of an advantage to get toward the front. I thought it would be more of an advantage than it was. But still, I think it was a benefit to our race… Still, to get to second is good.”
Tyler Ankrum ran fourth, followed by Ben Rhodes. Bayley Currey picked up the first stage win of his career in Stage 2 before falling out with transmission trouble 13 laps from the finish.
Smith led twice for a race-high 127 laps, followed by Rajah Caruth, who was out front for 85 circuits on a contrary tire strategy.
Reigning series champion Ty Majeski was eliminated in a Lap 53 crash involving Frankie Muniz, Stewart Friesen and Brandon Jones.
Heim leads Smith by 18 points in the series standings, with Majeski 57 points back in third.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck series will race Rockingham next Friday evening in a triumphant return for the Truck and Xfinity series.
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