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Chandler Smith wins NASCAR Truck Series race at Bristol over Kyle Larson

JHby:Jonathan Howard•about 21 hours•

Jondean25

Chandler Smith Bristol win
Screenshot credit: NASCAR on FOX via X.com

What a finish! Chandler Smith had Kyle Larson behind him with fresher tires and was able to hold off the Cup Series champion. Smith gets his first NASCAR Truck Series win with Front Row Motorsports. It won’t be his last this season, either.

When Front Row added Chandler Smith to its roster, it felt like a no-brainer. Smith was almost out of the NASCAR national series after ending 2024 with Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series.

Now, back in the Truck Series and still only 22 years old, he wins at Bristol. Sixth career win in the Truck Series and his first since 2022. The No. 38 driver also walks away with the Triple Truck Challenge bonus money.

This is not the first time that Chandler Smith has won at Bristol. He has a win from 2021 at the track when he raced for Kyle Busch Motorsports. If you race for Rowdy, then you better be good at Bristol. That was his first career win in the Truck Series back then. Now, his first with Front Row comes after just six races.

Smith noted in his postrace celebration that this team came together last minute. He was planning on spending the season away from NASCAR or looking for part-time rides as he worked for his dad’s construction company. Now, six races into the season, they are winners.

Full results from Bristol, via Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. A few surprising performances.

This is really a great lesson, in the last two races actually, in what humbling yourself can do. Daniel Hemric is an Xfinity Series champion and former Cup Series driver. Chandler Smith is a multiple-race winner in the Xfinity Series. Neither of them has complained about going back down.

Instead, early in the season, these two have been rewarded with race wins. Hemric at Martinsville and Smith at Front Row.

Chandler Smith is making a lot of noise early in 2025

Not only did he beat Kyle Larson in that last dash to the line, but Chandler Smith was able to take down his full-time rival in Corey Heim. It very well could come down to Smith and Heim later this season for the Truck Series championship in Phoenix, depending on how things play out.

This season, Smith has finished no worse than P8 in each race. He’s having a similar season to what Christian Eckes had a year ago. Heim isn’t that far off. He has two wins, two poles, and Atlanta is his only result outside the top-six.

Sneakily, Tyler Ankrum is having what might be the third-best performance this season. When you look at all of his finishes this season, he only has one outside of the top-10, a P34 DNF from Daytona. Since then, he has gone P3, P10, P4, P2, and P4. He hasn’t won a race since Kentucky in 2019, when he was only 18 years old. Can he close the deal this season?

Chandler Smith is the big winner tonight. However, this Truck Series season is only beginning. Next Friday night, the series heads to Rockingham for the first time in years. That should be one hell of a race, folks.