Chandler Smith Steals Martinsville Truck Win as Title Race Tightens to 20 Points

Chandler Smith upended his teammate's maximum-points day on a late restart to win the Black's Tire 200 at Martinsville Speedway on Friday night, keeping the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship fight alive with one race to go. Smith passed Layne Riggs on the final restart, lining up to Riggs's outside as the No. 34 defended the bottom lane, then pulled half a second clear by the chequered flag. Riggs had dominated the evening, sweeping both stages ahead of pole-sitter Tristan McKee, but a slow start with 13 laps remaining backed up McKee and opened the door for Smith. Ben Rhodes finished second, Riggs third, and Ty Majeski and McKee rounded out the top five. The victory was Smith's third of the season, although it did not save him from elimination from championship contention. The big championship winner was still Riggs, who shaved Kaden Honeycutt's lead to 20 points after Honeycutt was shuffled from the top five back to 14th on that same messy restart. Honeycutt leads with 2,403 points to Riggs's 2,383, with Smith third on 2,300. The title will now be decided in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday, November 6.