{"id":952606,"date":"2026-10-31T02:20:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T02:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/952606\/"},"modified":"2026-10-31T02:20:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T02:20:14","slug":"nascar-news-chandler-smith-wins-wild-martinsville-truck-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/952606\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR News: Chandler Smith wins wild Martinsville Truck race"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chandler Smith (pictured) used the final restart with 12 laps to go to snatch the lead from Front Row Motorsports teammate Layne Riggs and win Friday night\u2019s NASCAR Truck Series Black\u2019s Tire 200 at Martinsville Speedway<\/a>. Smith beat Ben Rhodes to the line by 0.574 seconds in his No. 38 QuickTie Ford, while Riggs, who led 156 of the 200 laps, had to settle for third.<\/p>\n

\u2013by Mark Cipolloni\u2013<\/p>\n

Tristan McKee led the field to the green after becoming, at 16, the youngest polesitter in Truck Series history, but Riggs cleared him for the lead in Turns 3 and 4 on the opening lap and controlled the first half of the race. Riggs swept both stages, beating McKee, Smith, Rhodes and Ty Majeski in each, and was more than a second clear for long stretches as he worked through lapped traffic.<\/p>\n

\"\"Tristan McKee, driver of the #77 Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet, leads a pack of trucks during the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Black\u2019s Tire 200 presented by Down East Heating & Air Conditioning at Martinsville Speedway on October 30, 2026 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The first caution came on lap 37, when Christian Eckes bumped championship leader Kaden Honeycutt entering Turn 1 while battling for 6th, and Honeycutt then hit Frankie Muniz and spun him. Eckes\u2019 night only got worse: NASCAR noted at the end of Stage 1 that he had been eliminated from championship contention, and he later pitted to check a right-rear problem before recovering to 10th.<\/p>\n

The second half turned into a Martinsville demolition derby. In all there were nine cautions for 67 laps and two red flags. The first red came on lap 118, when Daniel Hemric bumped Tyler Reif in Turn 4 and a chain reaction collected Justin Haley, Brenden Queen, Corey LaJoie, Tanner Gray and several others. Sammy Smith had already gone behind the wall with a suspension problem a few laps earlier. The second red flew on a lap-147 restart, when Gray turned Timmy Hill on the backstretch and Stewart Friesen, Justin Carroll, Carson Ferguson, Gavan Boschele and others piled in. Hill, who is stepping away from team ownership after this race, was out on the spot.<\/p>\n

McKee led 28 laps in the middle of the race, but Riggs took the lead back on the lap-155 restart and was cruising again until Reif turned Ferguson on the backstretch with 20 laps left. NASCAR held Reif for two laps for reckless driving. On the restart with 12 to go, Smith got a strong run on the outside, cleared Riggs on the backstretch and drove away, while Rhodes slipped past Riggs for 2nd. Rhodes had been nursing left-front brake trouble since the first stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been through a very rough patch since the Chase started and we\u2019ve kept our heads down,\u201d Smith said after climbing from the truck. \u201cMartinsville has been one on my bucket list that went for quite a while and I struggled here for a while\u2026 tonight, the car just felt exactly how they needed it to be\u2026 thankful to Front Row Motorsports. We got one more race to do with them. It\u2019s very bittersweet, but man, I\u2019m very happy that we can deliver a clock to Bob Jenkins.\u201d<\/p>\n

The win was Smith\u2019s third of the 2026 season and the 10th of his Truck Series career, and it earned him Martinsville\u2019s famous grandfather clock in his final season with Front Row, as he will not return to the team in 2027.<\/p>\n

Majeski finished 4th and McKee 5th, with Andres Perez de Lara, Tyler Ankrum, Giovanni Ruggiero, William Sawalich and Eckes completing the top 10. The biggest loser was Honeycutt. Running around 5th after the final restart, he made contact with McKee in Turn 1 and was pushed out of the groove, falling to 14th. The two talked it over on pit road after the race.<\/p>\n

\"\"Chandler Smith, driver of the #38 QuickTie\/Cole Swindell Ford, poses in victory lane with the grandfather clock after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Black\u2019s Tire 200 presented by Down East Heating & Air Conditioning at Martinsville Speedway on October 30, 2026 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Meg Oliphant\/Getty Images)
\nChampionship Impact<\/p>\n

Honeycutt\u2019s late trouble cut his lead over Riggs from 43 points to 20. He heads into the finale with 2,403 points to Riggs\u2019 2,383, and the title is now between the two of them. Smith (2,300, \u2013103), Majeski (\u2013128) and Eckes (\u2013140) are mathematically out of the running under NASCAR\u2019s new Chase format<\/a>, according to Frontstretch<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The NASCAR Truck Series wraps up its season at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday, Nov. 6, at 7:30 PM ET on FS1.<\/p>\n

Related Article: NASCAR News: Larson holds the cards as title rivals seek Martinsville magic<\/a><\/p>\n

2026 Black\u2019s Tire 200 at Martinsville Race Results<\/p>\n

Fin
\nStr
\nNo.
\nDriver
\nTeam
\nLaps Led
\nLaps
\nStatus<\/p>\n

1
\n3
\n38
\nChandler Smith (C)
\nQuickTie \/ Cole Swindell \u2013 Down Home Crew Ford
\n12
\n200
\nRunning<\/p>\n

2
\n4
\n99
\nBen Rhodes (C)
\nBommarito Ford
\n0
\n200
\nRunning<\/p>\n

3
\n2
\n34
\nLayne Riggs (C)
\nBKB Bare Knuckle Boxing Ford
\n156
\n200
\nRunning<\/p>\n

4
\n6
\n88
\nTy Majeski (C)
\nSerta\/Menards Ford
\n0
\n200
\nRunning<\/p>\n

5
\n1
\n77
\nTristan McKee
\nZeigler Auto Group Chevrolet
\n29
\n200
\nRunning<\/p>\n

6
\n13
\n44
\nAndres Perez De Lara
\nTelcel Chevrolet
\n0
\n200
\nRunning<\/p>\n

7
\n9
\n18
\nTyler Ankrum (C)
\nLiUNA Chevrolet
\n0
\n200
\nRunning<\/p>\n

8
\n11
\n17
\nGiovanni Ruggiero (C)
\nJBL Toyota
\n0
\n200
\nRunning<\/p>\n

9
\n18
\n5
\nWilliam Sawalich
\nSoundgear Toyota
\n0
\n200
\nRunning<\/p>\n

10
\n7
\n91
\nChristian Eckes (C)
\nNAPA Auto Care Chevrolet
\n0
\n200
\nRunning<\/p>\n

11
\n19
\n9
\nGrant Enfinger (C)
\nGrant County Mulch \/ Champion Chevrolet
\n0
\n200
\nRunning<\/p>\n

12
\n20
\n12
\nBrenden Queen
\nCummins Ram
\n0
\n200
\nRunning<\/p>\n

13
\n36
\n98
\nJake Garcia
\nQuanta\/ Curb Records Ford
\n0
\n200
\nRunning<\/p>\n

14
\n5
\n11
\nKaden Honeycutt (C)
\nSafelite Toyota
\n0
\n200
\nRunning<\/p>\n

15
\n15
\n19
\nDaniel Hemric (C)
\nArnott Suspension Products Chevrolet
\n0
\n200
\nRunning<\/p>\n

16
\n23
\n62
\nKasey Kleyn
\nThaemert Farms Toyota
\n0
\n200
\nRunning<\/p>\n

17
\n25
\n14
\nMini Tyrrell
\nRam
\n0
\n200
\nRunning<\/p>\n

18
\n10
\n15
\nTanner Gray
\nDown East Heating & Air\/Black\u2019s Tire Toyota
\n0
\n200
\nRunning<\/p>\n

19
\n12
\n45
\nLanden Lewis
\nJ.F. Electric\/Utilitra Chevrolet
\n0
\n200
\nRunning<\/p>\n

20
\n29
\n10
\nCorey LaJoie
\nMopar Ram
\n0
\n200
\nRunning<\/p>\n

21
\n28
\n81
\nKris Wright
\nF.N.B. Corporation Chevrolet
\n0
\n200
\nRunning<\/p>\n

22
\n22
\n13
\nCole Butcher
\nAtlantic Tiltload Ford
\n0
\n200
\nRunning<\/p>\n

23
\n31
\n76
\nSpencer Boyd
\niLex Funding Group\/Amthor International Chevrolet
\n0
\n199
\nRunning<\/p>\n

24
\n35
\n1
\nGavan Boschele
\nAmerican Land Partners Toyota
\n0
\n198
\nRunning<\/p>\n

25
\n30
\n33
\nFrankie Muniz
\nVyper Ford
\n0
\n198
\nRunning<\/p>\n

26
\n26
\n22
\nJosh Reaume
\nGap Year at Lodestar Ford
\n0
\n198
\nRunning<\/p>\n

27
\n16
\n42
\nTyler Reif
\nUtilitra\/J.F. Electric Chevrolet
\n0
\n198
\nRunning<\/p>\n

28
\n34
\n69
\nTyler Tomassi
\nTomassi Law Ram
\n0
\n196
\nRunning<\/p>\n

29
\n27
\n25
\nCarson Ferguson
\nRam
\n0
\n179
\nAccident<\/p>\n

30
\n14
\n52
\nStewart Friesen
\nHalmar International Toyota
\n3
\n147
\nAccident<\/p>\n

31
\n24
\n56
\nTimmy Hill
\nUNITS\/Toys for Tots Toyota
\n0
\n146
\nAccident<\/p>\n

32
\n33
\n90
\nJustin Carroll
\nCarroll\u2019s Automotive Toyota
\n0
\n141
\nAccident<\/p>\n

33
\n8
\n7
\nSammy Smith
\nAlpha Craft Technologies Chevrolet
\n0
\n129
\nSuspension<\/p>\n

34
\n17
\n16
\nJustin Haley
\nGrizzly Nicotine Pouches Ram
\n0
\n119
\nAccident<\/p>\n

35
\n32
\n2
\nMonty Tipton
\nBare Bones Ford
\n0
\n115
\nAccident<\/p>\n

36
\n21
\n4
\nConner Jones
\nNiece Chevrolet
\n0
\n95
\nRear Gear<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chandler Smith (pictured) used the final restart with 12 laps to go to snatch the lead from Front…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":952607,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":["post-952606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/952606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=952606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/952606\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/952607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=952606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=952606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=952606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}