Chandler Smith capitalized on two late-race restarts and capped off a dominant run at the front to win the Weather Guard Truck Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday, April 11.
The 22-year-old Smith from Talking Rock, Georgia, led a race-high 127 of 250-scheduled laps in an event where he started in third place and quickly made his presence in front of the field known after he overtook Daniel Hemric to lead for the first time on the ninth lap. Smith would proceed to win the first stage period on Lap 60 and lead through Lap 121 before he settled in the runner-up spot at the conclusion of the second stage period on Lap 130.
After making his lone pit stop of the event prior to the final stage period, Smith, who spent a majority of the stage period racing towards the front, managed to reassume the lead from Corey Heim during a brief restart period with 14 laps remaining. With the caution returning a lap later and the field jumbled up for another late-race restart with seven laps remaining, Smith managed to rocket away from Heim and fend of Kyle Larson to cruise to his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory of the 2025 season and notch a $50,000 bonus from the series’ Triple Truck Challenge program.
With on-track qualifying that was scheduled to occur on Friday canceled due to inclement weather, the starting lineup was determined by a metric system. As a result, Daniel Hemric, the series’ recent winner at Martinsville Speedway in late March, was awarded the pole position. Hemric shared the front row with teammate Tyler Ankrum, the latter of whom finished in the runner-up spot behind Hemric at Martinsville.
When the green flag waved and the event commenced, Daniel Hemric launched his No. 19 NAPA Chevrolet Silverado RST entry ahead from the outside lane and Corey Heim followed suit while Tyler Ankrum struggled to launch from the inside lane. As Ben Rhodes and Ty Majeski challenged Ankrum for third place, Hemric proceeded to fend off Heim and lead the first lap. With Hemric leading to the fifth lap mark, Rhodes and Chandler Smith navigated their way into second and third place on the track. Ankrum would also climb his way up to fourth place while Heim, who was racing on the outside lane, fell back to fifth place.
Through the first 10-scheduled laps and with a bevy of on-track battles ensuing around the Last Great Colosseum, Chandler Smith, who overtook Hemric for the lead two laps earlier, was leading by six-tenths of a second over Hemric while Ankrum and Rhodes battled for third place. Behind, Heim retained fifth place ahead of Majeski, Stewart Friesen, Brandon Jones, Layne Riggs and rookie Andres Perez de Lara. Meanwhile, Kyle Larson occupied 11th place ahead of Jake Garcia, Bayley Currey, Matt Mills and Matt Crafton while Kaden Honeycutt, rookie Giovanni Ruggiero, rookie Connor Mosack, Corey Day and Tanner Gray followed suit in the top 20, respectively.
Six laps later, the event’s first caution flew when Mosack, who was racing within the top-20 mark, got loose underneath Tanner Gray, slipped sideways and spun his No. 81 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Chevrolet Silverado RST entry in between Turns 3 and 4. The caution for Mosack’s incident served as the event’s competition caution period that was scheduled for Lap 20.
During the caution period, select names including Rajah Caruth, Grant Enfinger, Spencer Boyd, rookie Frankie Muniz, Mosack and Nathan Byrd pitted their respective entries while the rest led by Chandler Smith and including the front-runners remained on the track.
The start of the next restart period on Lap 24 featured Smith using the outside lane to muscle his No. 38 QuickTie Ford F-150 entry ahead of Hemric through the first two turns. Smith would proceed to lead the following lap while Ankrum used the outside lane to overtake teammate Hemric for the runner-up spot. Hemric would then fend off Heim and Majeski for third place over the Lap 25 mark as Freisen joined the battle for fourth place that involved Heim and Majeski. Majeski and Friesen would overtake Heim for top-five spots over the proceeding laps and both Brandon Jones and Riggs also overtook Heim, which dropped the latter to ninth place. Amid the battles within the field, Smith led the Lap 30 mark.
At the Lap 40 mark, Smith, who was navigating his way through lapped traffic, was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Ankrum while Majeski, Friesen and Jones climbed their way into the top five. Behind, Riggs and Heim trailed in sixth and seventh, respectively, while Hemric fell back to eighth place. Rhodes and Matt Crafton rounded out the top 10 ahead of Day, Garcia, Larson, Honeycutt and Currey.
Towards the Lap 50 mark and with the lead-lap competitors navigating their way through a bevy of lapped competitors, Smith extended his advantage to more than a second over Ankrum while Majeski, Friesen and Jones continued to follow suit in the top five. Behind, Riggs, Rhodes, Hemric, Larson and Day were in the top 10 while Crafton, Currey and Honeycutt followed suit. Meanwhile, Heim, who was battling handling issues, was mired back in 14th place ahead of Garcia and teammate Ruggiero.
Then on Lap 52, the event’s second caution flew when Majeski, Jones and Friesen, the trio of whom were racing in the top five, wrecked in between Turns 3 and 4 after they collided into the lapped competitor of Frankie Muniz. The incident first occurred after Muniz was hit in the rear end by Majeski and spun through the turns before he slid up the track and was collided into by Majeski, Jones and Friesen.
During the caution period, some including Bayley Currey, Kaden Honeycutt, Tanner Gray, Heim, Ruggiero, Perez de Lara, Parker Kligerman, Dawson Sutton, Matt Mills, rookie Toni Breidinger, Luke Fenhaus and Mosack pitted while the rest led by Smith remained on the track.
With two laps remaining in the first stage period, the event returned to green flag racing. At the start, Smith launched ahead from the outside lane for a second time as he led the field through the first two turns and the backstretch. Behind, Ankrum and Rhodes battled for the runner-up spot in front of Riggs, Hemric and Larson as Smith led the following lap.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 65, Smith captured his first Truck stage victory of the 2025 season. Rhodes followed suit in second ahead of Ankrum, Riggs and Hemric while Larson, Crafton, Corey Day, Garcia and Caruth were scored in the top 10, respectively.
Under the stage break, select names that included Hemric, Garcia and Tyler Tomassi pitted their respective entries while the rest led by Smith remained on the track.
The second stage period started on Lap 77 as Smith and Rhodes occupied the front row. At the start, Smith rocketed ahead from the outside lane and Ankrum followed suit while Rhodes struggled to launch from the inside lane. Ankrum and Rhodes then made slight contact entering Turn 2, but they kept their trucks racing straight in front of Riggs, Larson, Day and Crafton as Smith led the following lap.
Shortly after, the caution flew when Caruth, who was racing in the top-10 mark, was bumped by Honeycutt. The contact caused Caruth to slip to the bottom of the track and he would spin in Turn 1. Amid his incident, Caruth managed to keep his truck below the apron and avoid sliding back into the field as he continued with little damage to his No. 71 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado RST entry.
As the event restarted under green on Lap 85, Smith launched ahead from the outside lane as Ankrum battled Rhodes for the runner-up spot through the first two turns. Rhodes then nearly got loose underneath Ankrum entering the backstretch, but he managed to keep his No. 99 Bommarito Ford F-150 entry racing straight in front of Riggs and Larson. Rhodes’ slip, however, allowed Riggs to overtake him along with Currey.
Rhodes then tried to throw a three-wide move beneath both Riggs and Currey in an effort to reclaim third place through the backstretch on Lap 86, but Currey capitalized on the battle to muscle ahead of both and claim the spot. Not long after, Rhodes used the inside lane to muscle ahead of Riggs with fourth place in between the first two turns. With Riggs being intimidated by Larson, Heim and Crafton for a top-five spot, Chandler Smith led to the Lap 90 mark.
Through the Lap 100 mark, Smith maintained a strong advantage over both Ankrum and Currey while Rhodes and Larson were scored in the top five. Behind, Crafton, Riggs, Tanner Gray, Heim and Honeycutt pursued in the top 10 while Enfinger, Garcia, Perez, Ruggiero and Jack Wood occupied the top-15 spots ahead of Dawson Sutton, Day, Parker Kligerman, Hemric and Caruth.
Ten laps later, Smith was leading by more than two seconds over Currey while Ankrum, Rhodes and Larson pursued in the top five. Smith’s advantage, however, decreased to within one-and-a-half seconds at the Lap 115 mark and to two-tenths of a second by Lap 120 over a hard-charging Currey, the latter of whom pitted his No. 44 Masked Owl Technologies/DQS Chevrolet Silverado RST entry on Lap 60 and had fresher tires than Smith.
Then on Lap 121 and with the leaders mired behind a bevy of lapped traffic, Currey used the outside lane and his fresh tires entering Turns 3 and 4 to overtake Smith for the lead. With multiple names that included Matt Mills, Toni Breidinger, Mosack and Riggs losing a lap while mixing it up with the leaders, Currey proceeded to lead the event’s halfway mark on Lap 125 while Smith was struggling to keep pace within the lapped traffic.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 130, Currey, who was still navigating his way through a bevy of lapped traffic, captured his first Truck stage victory of the 2025 season. Smith followed suit in second ahead of Honeycutt, Heim and Tanner Gray while Ankrum, Crafton, Garcia, Rhodes and Corey Day were scored in the top 10, respectively.
During the stage break, nearly the entire lead lap field led by Currey pitted for fresh tires and fuel while Caruth remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Currey exited pit road first ahead of Heim and Honeycutt while Gray and Smith followed suit in the top five. Amid the pit stops, Larson and Perez were sent to the tail end of the field for speeding on pit road.
With 109 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Caruth and Currey occupied the front row. At the start, both Caruth and Currey dueled for a full lap as Caruth, who was racing on older tires than the field, managed to use the outside lane to lead the following lap. Caruth then managed to muscle ahead and clear Currey through the first two turns, which allowed Heim to get underneath and challenge Currey for the runner-up spot. With Gray and Honeycutt following suit in the top five, Caruth continued to lead with 105 laps remaining. As a series of on-track battles ensued, Caruth maintained the lead by nearly half a second over Currey with 100 laps remaining.
Down to the final 91 laps of the event, the caution returned when Breidinger, who was racing in the top 20, was hit in the left rear by Friesen. The contact then caused Breidinger to spin as she then backed her No. 5 TRICON Toyota Tundra TRD Pro entry into the outside wall in between Turns 3 and 4. By then, Caruth was leading by three-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Currey while Heim, Honeycutt and Chandler Smith all trailed by more than a second in the top-five mark. During the caution period, some including Rhodes, Jack Wood, Larson, Mosack, Kligerman and Breidinger pitted while the rest led by Caruth remained on the track.
The start of the next restart with 83 laps remaining featured Caruth fending off Currey for half a lap as he motored his No. 71 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado RST entry ahead entering Turns 3 and 4. In the process, Heim came charging behind Caruth and he would overtake Currey during the following lap that was led by Caruth. With Heim reeling in Caruth, the latter led with 80 laps remaining while Honeycutt, Enfinger, Smith, Hemric, Ankrum, Garcia and Gray were jostling within the top-10 mark. Meanwhile, Larson, who was trying to rally from his late pit road speeding penalty, trailed in 11th place as Crafton, Day, Ruggiero and Perez followed suit.
Down to the final 70 laps of the event, Caruth, who continued to hold strong on his worn tires, was leading by four-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Heim while Currey, Enfinger and Smith were racing in the top five ahead of Honeycutt, Hemric, Ankrum, Larson and Garcia.
Fifteen laps later, Caruth stabilized his steady advantage to three-tenths of a second over Heim while Currey, Enfinger and Chandler Smith trailed in the top five. Heim and Currey, both of whom were within striking distance of Caruth, would trail Caruth by two-tenths and half a second, respectively, with 50 laps remaining.
With 35 laps remaining, Caruth, who has yet to pit due to not having enough fuel to reach the event’s scheduled distance, continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over runner-up Heim and by six-tenths of a second over third-place Currey while Smith and Honeycutt trailed in the top five. Meanwhile, Larson navigated his way into seventh place behind Hemric while Ankrum, Enfinger and Garcia were in the top 10 ahead of Crafton, Riggs, Day, Gray and Ruggiero, respectively.
Then with 28 laps remaining, Heim muscled his No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro entry into the lead over Caruth, where the former overtook the latter with a strong launch from the outside lane through the frontstretch. Smith, who was posting fast lap times to catch the top-three competitors, would charge his way into the runner-up spot behind while Caruth retained third place over Currey and Honeycutt.
As Caruth was trying to fend off Currey for third place, Smith ignited his challenge for the lead on Heim. Amid Smith’s charge and challenge through every turn and lane, Heim used the lapped competitor of Matt Mills to briefly stall Smith’s momentum and maintain the lead with 26 laps remaining, but Smith kept the pressure on Heim for the top spot during the next lap.
Then with 24 laps remaining, the caution flew due to weather and reports of mist falling on the track. During the caution period, some led by Caruth and including Hemric, Day, Enfinger, Gray, Perez de Lara, Sutton, Kligerman, Crafton and Matt Mills pitted their respective entries while the rest led by Heim remained on the track.
The start of the ensuing restart with 14 laps remaining did not last long as Currey, who restarted in third place, quickly dropped off the pace due to a gearing issue through the first two turns. With Currey remaining on the track, the field scattered as both Rhodes and Caruth made contact with Currey while trying to navigate past the latter. The caution would then fly as Perez de Lara had an incident in the backstretch, where he sustained significant left-side damage to his No. 77 Telcel Chevrolet Silverado RST entry. At the moment of caution, Smith, who launched ahead of Heim during the previous restart, had managed to assume the lead. In addition, Larson was up into third place ahead of Riggs, Ankrum and Honeycutt while Currey’s strong event concluded with his truck being pushed behind the wall and unable to finish.
Down to the final seven laps of the event, the event restarted under green. At the start, Smith used the outside lane to rocket ahead and quickly transition back to the inside lane while Heim, who restarted on the inside lane, struggled to launch through the first two turns. In the process, Larson used the outside lane to move into the runner-up spot and he pursued Smith while the latter led with six laps remaining.
With five laps remaining, Smith maintained a steady lead over a hard-charging Larson and Heim while Ankrum, Riggs and Rhodes followed suit. Despite Larson’s efforts to keep Smith close within his sights, Smith, who was racing towards the inside lane, retained the lead and was creating a reasonable gap between himself and Larson.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Smith remained in the lead over Larson. With both Larson and Heim unable to reel in Smith for a final lap, Smith was able to cycle his Ford around the Last Great Colosseum for a final time before he returned to the frontstretch to claim his first checkered flag of the year by nine-tenths of a second.
With the victory, Smith, who returned to full-time Truck Series competition for the first time since 2022, notched his sixth career win in the Craftsman Truck Series division, his second at Bristol and his first since he won at Richmond Raceway in August 2022. The victory was also his first driving for Front Row Motorsports (FRM) as he delivered the second win for crew chief Jon Leonard, the first of the year for the Ford nameplate and the 11th series victory for FRM.
As an added bonus, Smith, who became the sixth winner through the first six-scheduled events of the 2025 season, pocketed the second Triple Truck Challenge bonus of $50,000 to the 2025 campaign, with Smith notching the bonus for himself for the first time ever.
“I’m more excited for this team than I am for myself.” Smith said on the frontstretch on FS1. “This group came together. We hired my crew chief [Jon Leonard] like three weeks before Daytona. Take that in for a second. This group just got assembled literally in January. The Good Lord works in mysterious ways. My life has been really, really crazy here recently and there were a lot of unknowns about my future going into this season. We kind of had our backs against the wall about just putting a group together last minute, but I wouldn’t want any different group than I’ve got behind me. This No. 38 QuickTie Parts Ford F-150 was on a rail tonight…[The Triple Truck Challenge bonus] puts the topping on the cake.”
Larson, who was striving for a triple-header weekend sweep at Bristol and who won two races ago at Homestead-Miami Speedway, settled in second place in his second start driving the No. 07 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado RST entry for Spire Motorsports.
“We fell back there on that long run to end the second stage,” Larson said. “I got super tight and then I speed on pit road. Honestly, I think that probably helped us because we were still kind of buried for the next caution and we pitted, so we had a little bit of an advantage to get towards 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…To get to second is good.”
Corey Heim, who led 16 laps, settled in third place for his fourth top-three result of the year while Tyler Ankrum and Ben Rhodes finished in the top five on the track.
Layne Riggs, Jake Garcia, Kaden Honeycutt, Rajah Caruth and rookie Giovanni Ruggiero completed the top 10 in the final running order.
There were six lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 66 laps. In addition, 19 of 35 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the sixth event of the 2025 Craftsman Truck Series season, Corey Heim leads the regular-season standings by 18 points over Chandler Smith, 57 over Ty Majeski, 60 over Tyler Ankrum and 65 over Daniel Hemric.
Results:
1. Chandler Smith, 127 laps led, Stage 1 winner
2. Kyle Larson
3. Corey Heim, 16 laps led
4. Tyler Ankrum
5. Ben Rhodes
6. Layne Riggs
7. Jake Garcia
8. Kaden Honeycutt
9. Rajah Caruth, 85 laps led
10. Giovanni Ruggiero
11. Jack Wood
12. Grant Enfinger
13. Daniel Hemric, eight laps led
14. Parker Kligerman
15. Corey Day
16. Matt Crafton
17. Dawson Sutton
18. Tanner Gray
19. Andres Perez de Lara
20. Matt Mills, one lap down
21. Tyler Tomassi, four laps down
22. Luke Fenhaus, seven laps down
23. Bayley Currey – OUT, Suspension, 14 laps led, Stage 2 winner
24. Connor Mosack, 16 laps down
25. Toni Breidinger, 23 laps down
26. Justin Carroll, 28 laps down
27. Stewart Friesen – OUT, Suspension
28. Nathan Byrd – OUT, Brakes
29. Patrick Staropoli – OUT, Transmission
30. Spencer Boyd – OUT, Handling
31. Frankie Muniz – OUT, DVP
32. Brandon Jones – OUT, Accident
33. Ty Majeski – OUT, Accident
34. Norm Benning – OUT, Handling
35. Stephen Mallozzi – OUT, Electrical
Next on the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season is the series’ return to Rockingham Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina, for the Black’s Tire 200 and where the third and final Triple Truck Challenge event of this season will occur. The event is scheduled to occur next Friday, April 18, and air at 5 p.m. ET on FS1.
