The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series visited Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday night in the Weather Guard Truck Race. Inclement weather canceled practice and qualifying and the lineup was determined by point standings. Daniel Hemric was on the pole and Tyler Ankrum started second.
In Stage 1, Daniel Hemric led the opening nine laps before losing the lead to Chandler Smith on the backstretch. There were two cautions during the stage including a multiple wreck on lap 53 involving Frankie Muniz, Ty Majeski, Stewart Friesen, and Brandon Jones. Smith went on to win Stage 1 over Ben Rhodes.
In Stage 2, there was one caution on lap 71 when Rajah Caruth spun on the frontstretch after making contact with Kaden Honeycutt. On lap 122, Bayley Curry passed Chandler Smith for the lead. He led eight laps to win the stage over Chandler Smith.
In the final stage, there were two more cautions. One was for rain on lap 228 and the other on lap 237 when Bayley Currey had a transmission issue. On lap 244, Chandler Smith cleared Corey Heim for the lead before Kyle Larson took second place.
On the final lap, Smith held off Kyle Larson to win his first Craftsman Truck Series race in three years by 0.934 seconds. It was Smith’s sixth career Truck Series victory. Smith led 127 of 250 laps. There were six lead changes among five drivers.
The rest of the top ten finishers were Corey Heim third, Tyler Ankrum fourth, Ben Rhodes fifth, Layne Riggs sixth, Jake Garcia seventh, Kaden Honeycutt eighth, Rajah Caruth ninth, and Gio Ruggiero tenth. There were eight cautions for 66 laps.
The Craftsman Truck Series heads to Rockingham Speedway for the first time in 12 years next Friday at 5 pm on FS1. Purchase NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series tickets today at StubHub.
