Chandler Smith goes back to back at North Wilkesboro in the Truck Series

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Chandler Smith’s truck came to life in the second half of the FaithFest 250 to successfully defend his North Wilkesboro Speedway win.

This is his second win of the 2026 season and his ninth career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win overall

Smith qualified ninth and ran inside the top ten during the first two stages But his truck really came to life in the final stage.

He dominated the remaining stint. He led a race-high 105 laps and lapped up to tenth. Smith now owns the largest margin of victory at a short track in series history, 8.479 seconds.

Smith’s fifth career series short track win is accompanied by a team 1-2 finish. His Front Row Motorsports teammate and race polesitter Layne Riggs joined his teammate in a podium position from second.

The stage one winner Riggs, ran the primary strategy and could not capture a late caution necessary to win.

Shane van Gisbergen achieved his highest oval finish in his entire NASCAR career in third place. He benefitted from an excellent strategy call in the final stage which saw him rocket through the top ten throughout the final run.

Christian Eckes joined van Gisbergen near the mid pack at the start. He climbed inside the top ten early and went on to complete his fifth top five of the season and second in a row.

Landen Lewis continued to impress with his late run into the top five. Lewis looks ready to race in the series full-time after his third career top five in only eight starts.

Series-regular Gio Ruggerio crossed the line in sixth while Chase Elliott completed his return to the series in seventh.

Stewart Friesen finished eighth for his fifth top ten finish of the season and his second in a row.

Notable Results

Corey Heim returned to the series and finished ninth while Ty Majeski won the second stage after starting in 27th and completed the top ten.

Kaden Honeycutt finished outside the top ten in 11th and dropped more points to the regular season point leader Riggs.

Outside of Chase Elliott, the other NASCAR Cup Series regulars in the field struggled.

Christopher Bell ran inside the top ten, but fell to finish 15th. Carson Hocevar led 74 laps but a flat tire in the waning laps of the second stage put him two laps down and effectively ended his day.

Hocevar would not recuperate his lost laps and would finish 27th.

Ryan Newman returned to the series and finished two laps down in 24th.

Then, both of the debutants had a debut to forget. Kasey Kleyn and Donovan Strauss both DNF’d and rounded out the field in 35th and 36th.

Finally, Frankie Muniz was treated for heat exhaustion after the race. The status on his condition is unknown though he was able to exit his truck under his own power.

Below is the full results of the FaithFest 250 at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Full Results

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