Chandler Smith Wins Bristol Triple Truck Bonus

(BRISTOL, TN – APRIL 11, 2025 – RIS) Chandler Smith drove away from a charging Kyle Larson in a late-race restart to take the Weather Guard Truck Race at Bristol. Smith earned a bonus of $50,000 as winner of one of the Triple Truck Challenge races.

The Weather Guard Truck Race at Bristol Motor Speedway got underway under chilly and cloudy weather as the first laps on the “Last Great Colosseum” of the weekend as rain almost all day kept everything under wraps until the scheduled starting time. Daniel Hemric started first, thanks to the NASCAR metric system and his win at the most recent event. Connor Mosack became the first truck to spin, losing it in the fourth turn on lap 15, allowing Frankie Muniz back onto the lead lap as the lucky dog. 

Chandler Smith took the lead from Hemric after nine laps and seemed headed to the stage win until Frankie Muniz and Ty Majeski got tangled as third-place Majeski moved to pass Muniz. Smith went on to win the first stage, followed by Ben Rhodes, Tyler Ankrum, Layne Riggs and Daniel Hemric with Kyle Larson just a second back in sixth place.

The stage restart had Smith jump out to a big lead over the field until a lap later when Rajah Caruth got spun off the front bumper of Kayden Honeycutt’s truck for an immediate yellow flag.

Bayley Currey beat Chandler Smith for his first career stage win, with Kaden Honeycutt, Corey Heim and Tanner Gray the rest of the top five runners.

Rajah Caruth took the lead from Currey after the restart, then Toni Breidinger and Stewart Friesen spun in the fourth turn to bring out the sixth caution of the race with Caruth and Currey restarting on the front row. Caruth jumpe to th lead with Corey Heim moving into second ahead of Currey. Kyle Larson pitted for fresh tires and began a hunt for the top ten, moving to eleventh an then tenth in just a few laps as he tries to take the sweep of all three races at Bristol, following in the tracks of Kyle Busch, who scored that record.

Heim got around Caruth with a move to the high side, followed by Chandler Smith as the pair continued their struggle for track position. The seventh caution flew for weather just a few laps after Heim and Smith got around Caruth as his advantage faded and he dropped to sixth on almost the oldest tires on the track. The misting rain lasted only a few minutes, with the top five runners Heim, Smith, Currey, Honeycutt and a hard-charging Kyle Larson in fifth. Caruth was one of the racers who stopped for fuel and tires, as the truck was running short on fuel and his long run in the lead put a lot of wear on the tires.

The race restarted with Smith and Heim on the front row, Larson and Currey on the second row looking at 14 laps to go but Andres Perez De Lara’s truck got damaged on the left front when Bayley Currey’s transmission failed at the restart, causing an almost immediate caution with Smith ahead at the time of the yellow and setting up another restart. Smith started on the outside, followed by Larson, with Heim and Riggs on the inside lane as the green came back out with seven laps to go. Larson used his favorite top lane move to leap to second and started to chase Chandler Smith but Smith built an unassailable lead, in spite of Larson’s fastest lap of the race, followed by Larson, Heim, Ankrum and Ben Rhodes moving to fifth at the finish of the race. The win for Chandler Smith earned him a $50,000 bonus from the Triple Truck Challenge.

“I’m more excited for this team than I am for myself,” said Smith. “This group came together. We hired my crew chief 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 at the last minute, but I wouldn’t want any different group than I’ve got behind me.”

Unofficial Results: Weather Guard Truck Race, April 11, 2025 - Bristol Motor Speedway
Fin, Str, Driver, Truck, Laps, St1, St2, Pts, Status, Tms, Laps, Playoff Pts
1) 3, Chandler Smith, No. 38 QuickTie Ford, 250, 1, 2, 59, Running, 2, 127, 6
2) 11, Kyle Larson(i), No. 07 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 250, 6, , 0, Running, , , 
3) 4, Corey Heim, No. 11 Safelite Toyota, 250, , 4, 41, Running, 2, 16, 
4) 2, Tyler Ankrum, No. 18 Ullico Chevrolet, 250, 3, 6, 46, Running, , , 
5) 6, Ben Rhodes, No. 99 Bommarito Automotive Group Ford, 250, 2, 9, 43, Running, , , 
6) 9, Layne Riggs, No. 34 Love's RV STOP Ford, 250, 4, , 38, Running, , , 
7) 5, Jake Garcia, No. 13 Quanta Services Ford, 250, 9, 8, 35, Running, , , 
8) 22, Kaden Honeycutt, No. 45 DQS/Masked Owl Technologies Chevrolet, 250, , 3, 37, Running, , , 
9) 12, Rajah Caruth, No. 71 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 250, 10, , 29, Running, 1, 85, 
10) 14, Giovanni Ruggiero #, No. 17 First Auto Group Toyota, 250, , , 27, Running, , , 
11) 19, Jack Wood, No. 91 Motion Industries Chevrolet, 250, , , 26, Running, , , 
12) 24, Grant Enfinger, No. 9 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet, 250, , , 25, Running, , , 
13) 1, Daniel Hemric, No. 19 NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet, 250, 5, , 30, Running, 1, 8, 
14) 35, Parker Kligerman, No. 75 Food Country USA Chevrolet, 250, , , 23, Running, , , 
15) 29, Corey Day(i), No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 250, 8, 10, 0, Running, , , 
16) 27, Matt Crafton, No. 88 Great Lakes Flooring/Menards Ford, 250, 7, 7, 29, Running, , , 
17) 16, Dawson Sutton #, No. 26 Rackley Roofing Chevrolet, 250, , , 20, Running, , , 
18) 17, Tanner Gray, No. 15 Place of Hope Toyota, 250, , 5, 25, Running, , , 
19) 10, Andres Perez De Lara #, No. 77 Telcel Chevrolet, 250, , , 18, Running, , , 
20) 15, Matt Mills, No. 42 Utilitra/J.F. Electric Chevrolet, 249, , , 17, Running, , , 
21) 31, Tyler Tomassi(i), No. 22 FNF Family of Companies Ford, 246, , , 0, Running, , , 
22) 21, Luke Fenhaus, No. 66 Soda Sense Ford, 243, , , 15, Running, , , 
23) 20, Bayley Currey, No. 44 Masked Owl Technologies/DQS Chevrolet, 237, , 1, 24, Suspension, 1, 14, 1
24) 25, Connor Mosack #, No. 81 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Chevrolet, 234, , , 13, Running, , , 
25) 28, Toni Breidinger #, No. 5 TRICON Toyota, 227, , , 12, Running, , , 
26) 23, Justin Carroll, No. 90 Carroll's Automotive Toyota, 222, , , 11, Running, , , 
27) 7, Stewart Friesen, No. 52 Halmar International Toyota, 201, , , 10, Suspension, , , 
28) 30, Nathan Byrd, No. 02 Timothy Plan Chevrolet, 155, , , 9, Brakes, , , 
29) 26, Patrick Staropoli(i), No. 84 Syfovre Toyota, 107, , , 0, Transmission, , , 
30) 18, Spencer Boyd, No. 76 Camp Cowboy Chevrolet, 77, , , 7, Handling, , , 
31) 33, Frankie Muniz #, No. 33 PBZ OTC Ford, 76, , , 6, DVP, , , 
32) 13, Brandon Jones(i), No. 1 U Arkansas College of Eng Toyota, 53, , , 0, Accident, , , 
33) 8, Ty Majeski, No. 98 Soda Sense/Curb Records Ford, 52, , , 4, Accident, , , 
34) 34, Norm Benning, No. 6 MDIA Inc Chevrolet, 35, , , 3, Handling, , , 
35) 32, Stephen Mallozzi, No. 2 More Core Ford, 4, , , 2, Electrical, , ,
(i) Ineligible for driver points, (#) Rookie

Race Length: 250 Laps, 133.25 Miles
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 50 Mins, 33 Secs.
Average Speed: 72.32 MPH
Margin of Victory: 0.934 Seconds

Fastest Lap Bonus: No. 07, Lap 246, 15.381 sec

Stage 1 Top 10: 38, 99, 18, 34, 19, 07, 88, 7, 13, 71
Stage 2 Top 10: 44, 38, 45, 11, 15, 18, 88, 13, 99, 7

Comments: Chandler Smith has won the Weather Guard Truck Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, his sixth career victory in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.

Cautions: 8 for 66 laps;
Laps: 18-24 (No. 81 Spin Turn 4 [33]);
54-63 (No. 1, 33, 52, 98 Incident Turn 4 [22]);
67-77 (Stage 1 Conclusion [81]);
80-85 (No. 71 Spin Turn 1 [81]);
132-141 (Stage 2 Conclusion [5]);
161-167 (No. 5, 52 Incident Turn 4 [34]);
228-236 (Weather - Rain [26]);
238-243 (No. 77 Incident Backstretch [42]).

Lead Changes: 6 among 5 drivers;
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.

Unofficial Points Weather Guard Truck Race, Bristol Motor Speedway
Pos, Driver, Car, Starts, GL, Points, Ldr, Nxt, Race Wins, Stage Wins, Playoff Pts
1) Corey Heim, 11, 6, 0, 270, 0, 0, 2, 4, 14
2) Chandler Smith, 38, 6, -1, 252, -18, 18, 1, 1, 6
3) Ty Majeski, 98, 6, 1, 213, -57, 39, 0, 1, 1
4) Tyler Ankrum, 18, 6, -2, 210, -60, 3, 0, 1, 1
5) Daniel Hemric, 19, 6, 1, 205, -65, 5, 1, 0, 5
6) Layne Riggs, 34, 6, -2, 186, -84, 19, 0, 0, 0
7) Grant Enfinger, 9, 6, 0, 182, -88, 4, 0, 0, 0
8) Stewart Friesen, 52, 6, 3, 177, -93, 5, 0, 0, 0
9) Ben Rhodes, 99, 6, -1, 174, -96, 3, 0, 1, 1
10) Jake Garcia, 13, 6, 1, 172, -98, 2, 0, 0, 0
11) Kaden Honeycutt, 45, 6, 0, 167, -103, 5, 0, 0, 0
12) Tanner Gray, 15, 6, 0, 148, -122, 19, 0, 0, 0
13) Giovanni Ruggiero #, 17, 6, 0, 146, -124, 2, 0, 0, 0
14) Rajah Caruth, 71, 6, -1, 126, -144, 20, 0, 0, 0
15) Matt Crafton, 88, 6, -2, 126, -144, 0, 0, 1, 1
16) Jack Wood, 91, 6, -2, 117, -153, 9, 0, 1, 1
17) Andres Perez De Lara #, 77, 6, 1, 115, -155, 2, 0, 0, 0
18) Matt Mills, 42, 6, 4, 115, -155, 0, 0, 0, 0
19) Dawson Sutton #, 26, 6, -1, 105, -165, 10, 0, 0, 0
20) Connor Mosack #, 81, 6, 1, 103, -167, 2, 0, 0, 0
21) Bayley Currey, 44, 4, -1, 92, -178, 11, 0, 1, 0
22) Spencer Boyd, 76, 6, 1, 84, -186, 8, 0, 0, 0
23) Frankie Muniz #, 33, 6, 0, 74, -196, 10, 0, 0, 0
24) Toni Breidinger #, 5, 6, 0, 74, -196, 0, 0, 0, 0
25) Luke Fenhaus, 66, 4, 0, 69, -201, 5, 0, 0, 0
26) Nathan Byrd, 02, 6, -1, 48, -222, 21, 0, 0, 0
27) Josh Reaume, , 3, 1, 47, -223, 1, 0, 0, 0
28) Justin Carroll, 90, 3, -3, 39, -231, 8, 0, 0, 0
29) Lawless Alan, , 1, 1, 31, -239, 8, 0, 0, 0
30) Jason White, , 1, 1, 29, -241, 2, 0, 0, 0
31) Johnny Sauter, , 1, 1, 29, -241, 0, 0, 0, 0
32) Norm Benning, 6, 3, -1, 27, -243, 2, 0, 0, 0
33) Timmy Hill, , 1, 1, 26, -244, 1, 0, 0, 0
34) Parker Kligerman, 75, 2, -11, 24, -246, 2, 0, 0, 0
35) Stefan Parsons, , 1, 1, 19, -251, 5, 0, 0, 0
36) Luke Baldwin, , 1, 1, 15, -255, 4, 0, 0, 0
37) Matthew Gould, , 1, 1, 14, -256, 1, 0, 0, 0
38) Keith Mcgee, , 2, 1, 12, -258, 2, 0, 0, 0
39) Stephen Mallozzi, 2, 3, 1, 11, -259, 1, 0, 0, 0
40) Cody Dennison, , 1, 1, 7, -263, 4, 0, 0, 0
41) Michel Disdier, , 1, 1, 6, -264, 1, 0, 0, 0
42) Alan Waller, , 1, 1, 6, -264, 0, 0, 0, 0
43) Akinori Ogata, , 1, 1, 5, -265, 1, 0, 0, 0
44) Clay Greenfield, , 1, 1, 4, -266, 1, 0, 0, 0
45) Ryan Roulette, , 1, 1, 2, -268, 2, 0, 0, 0
46) Kyle Busch(i), , 1, 0, 0, -270, 2, 1, 1, 0
47) Kyle Larson(i), 07, 2, 0, 0, -270, 0, 1, 0, 0
48) Justin Haley(i), , 2, 0, 0, -270, 0, 0, 0, 0
49) Ross Chastain(i), , 1, 0, 0, -270, 0, 0, 0, 0
50) William Sawalich(i), , 3, 0, 0, -270, 0, 0, 0, 0
51) Michael Mcdowell(i), , 2, 0, 0, -270, 0, 0, 0, 0
52) Brandon Jones(i), 1, 2, 0, 0, -270, 0, 0, 0, 0
53) William Byron(i), , 1, 0, 0, -270, 0, 0, 0, 0
54) Corey Day(i), 7, 4, -1, 0, -270, 0, 0, 0, 0
55) Mason Maggio(i), , 1, 1, 0, -270, 0, 0, 0, 0
56) Patrick Staropoli(i), 84, 2, 0, 0, -270, 0, 0, 0, 0
57) Tyler Tomassi(i), 22, 1, 57, 0, -270, 0, 0, 0, 0
58) Bryan Dauzat, , 0, 1, 0, -270, 0, 0, 0, 0
-Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series