NASCAR News: Chandler Smith schools Kyle Larson at Bristol

Chandler Smith had to hold off one of America’s most over-rated drivers to take the checkered flag in the WEATHER GUARD NASCAR Truck Race on Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway.

In the process, Smith showed he may deserve some of those accolades as well.

Smith, driving the No. 38 Ford for Front Row Motorsports, topped Kyle Larson following a restart with seven laps left on his way to his second Bristol NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win and sixth of his career. With the win, he abruptly ended Larson’s quest to sweep all three races this weekend.

“I am more excited for this team than myself,” said Smith, who also earned an extra $50,000 bonus for the victory as part of the Triple Truck Challenge. “Thank you so much Bristol. You guys are the best!”

Larson was the runner-up in just his second Truck Series start at Bristol, followed by Corey Heim in third, Taylor Ankrum in fourth and Ben Rhodes in fifth.

“We fell back on the long runs,” said Larson, who will now focus on trying to win Saturday’s SciAps 300 Xfinity Series race and Sunday’s Food City 500 NASCAR Cup Series race.  “If we didn’t get that last caution, I might have had a good shot. Second is good. It’s unfortunate not to get the win but we still have two more shots this weekend.”

Related Article:  NASCAR News: Larson wins Homestead Truck Race

Smith is racing full-time in the Truck Series for the first time since 2022 after two seasons in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Entering 2025, the 22-year-old from Talking Rock, Ga., was unsure where his racing journey was headed.

“We hired a crew chief three weeks before Daytona,” said Smith, who led a race-high 127 laps. “Take that in for a second. This group just got assembled literally in January. The Good Lord works in mysterious ways. There were a lot of unknowns about my future going into this season.”

Smith started third after Bush’s Beans Practice and Bush’s Beans Qualifying sessions for the WEATHER GUARD Truck Race were canceled Friday afternoon due to inclement weather.

Smith was in contention from the start, winning the first stage and finishing second to Bayley Curry in the second.

“I wouldn’t want any different group than I’ve got behind me,” Smith said. “This [truck] was on a rail tonight.”

Smith steadily moved up through the top 10 in the final stage before nosing out Heim and Larson across the race’s final restarts before beating Larson to the checkered flag by 0.934 seconds.

“We got behind on our adjustments,” said Heim, who led 16 laps. “[Smith] was so quick at the end. They have something figured out here.”

Smith averaged 72 mph around the .533-mile concrete oval at The Last Great Colosseum, completing the 250 laps in 1 hour, 50 minutes and 33 seconds. Eight caution periods took up 66 laps while five leaders exchanged the lead six times.

Among other notables, defending Truck Series champion Ty Majeski finished 33rd following a four-truck wreck that started near the entrance to Turn 3 near the end of the first stage. Stewart Friesen, Brandon Jones and rookie Frankie Muniz were also involved in the incident.

“By the time I realized the No. 33 [Muniz] was coming back to the bottom, I was in no man’s land,” said Majeski, who was running third when he spun. “We had a chance to win after an adjustment or two. It’s disappointing.”

Layne Riggs, last fall’s BMS Truck Series winner, placed sixth, Rajah Caruth led 85 laps before finishing ninth and rookie Dawson Sutton, 19, from Lebanon, Tenn., finished 17th.

Race Results

1. (3) Chandler Smith, Ford, 250.
2. (11) Kyle Larson(i), Chevrolet, 250.
3. (4) Corey Heim, Toyota, 250.
4. (2) Tyler Ankrum, Chevrolet, 250.
5. (6) Ben Rhodes, Ford, 250.
6. (9) Layne Riggs, Ford, 250.
7. (5) Jake Garcia, Ford, 250.
8. (22) Kaden Honeycutt, Chevrolet, 250.
9. (12) Rajah Caruth, Chevrolet, 250.
10. (14) Giovanni Ruggiero #, Toyota, 250.
11. (19) Jack Wood, Chevrolet, 250.
12. (24) Grant Enfinger, Chevrolet, 250.
13. (1) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 250.
14. (35) Parker Kligerman, Chevrolet, 250.
15. (29) Corey Day(i), Chevrolet, 250.
16. (27) Matt Crafton, Ford, 250.
17. (16) Dawson Sutton #, Chevrolet, 250.
18. (17) Tanner Gray, Toyota, 250.
19. (10) Andres Perez De Lara #, Chevrolet, 250.
20. (15) Matt Mills, Chevrolet, 249.
21. (31) Tyler Tomassi(i), Ford, 246.
22. (21) Luke Fenhaus, Ford, 243.
23. (20) Bayley Currey, Chevrolet, Suspension, 237.
24. (25) Connor Mosack #, Chevrolet, 234.
25. (28) Toni Breidinger #, Toyota, 227.
26. (23) Justin Carroll, Toyota, 222.
27. (7) Stewart Friesen, Toyota, Suspension, 201.
28. (30) Nathan Byrd, Chevrolet, Brakes, 155.
29. (26) Patrick Staropoli(i), Toyota, Transmission, 107.
30. (18) Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, Handling, 77.
31. (33) Frankie Muniz #, Ford, DVP, 76.
32. (13) Brandon Jones(i), Toyota, Accident, 53.
33. (8) Ty Majeski, Ford, Accident, 52.
34. (34) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, Handling, 35.
35. (32) Stephen Mallozzi, Ford, Electrical, 4.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 72.32 mph.
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 50 Mins, 33 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.934 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 8 for 66 laps.
Lead Changes: 6 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders: D. Hemric 1-8;C. Smith 9-121;B. Currey 122-135;C. Heim 136;R. Caruth 137-221;C. Heim 222-236;C. Smith 237-250.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Chandler Smith 2 times for 127 laps; Rajah Caruth 1 time for 85 laps; Corey Heim 2 times for 16 laps; Bayley Currey 1 time for 14 laps; Daniel Hemric 1 time for 8 laps.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 38,99,18,34,19,07,88,7,13,71
Stage #2 Top Ten: 44,38,45,11,15,18,88,13,99,7