Chandler Smith Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service With a gaggle of trucks wrecking behind him as the field approached the finish line, Ben Rhodes shot past Cory Roper in the tri-oval at Daytona International Speedway to win Friday night’s NextEra Energy 250, the 2021 season-opener for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. With a decisive push from ThorSport Racing teammate Matt Crafton on the final lap of an overtime shootout, Rhodes had more than enough momentum to charge past Roper in the final 400 yards. Likewise, Jordan Anderson blew past RoperRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Championship finalist Sheldon Creed had already apologized to his race team as his No. 2 GMS Racing Chevrolet Silverado began to fall back in the closing laps of Friday night’s Lucas Oil 150 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series championship race at Phoenix Raceway. And then a yellow flag came out – with three laps remaining. Creed gambled on a pit stop for fresh tires even as the race leaders – fellow championship contenders Brett Moffitt and Grant Enfinger stayed on track. CreedRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service After four runner-up finishes on the season, former NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Series champion Brett Moffitt earned his first victory of 2020 in the Clean Harbors 200 at Kansas Speedway Saturday evening. And while that first win came 20 races into the season, it was particularly impactful – officially landing Moffitt in the Championship 4 that will compete for the series title Nov. 6 in Phoenix. Moffitt, 28, held off his GMS Racing Chevrolet teammate Sheldon Creed by a mere .111-seconds for theRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service In a wild two-lap shootout that ended prematurely with a multicar wreck near the entrance to Turn 3, 19-year-old Canadian Raphael Lessard earned his first NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series victory in Saturday’s Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Talladega Superspeedway. Lessard had nosed ahead of runner-up Trevor Bayne while Stewart Friesen’s Chevrolet spun into the outside backstretch wall on the final lap, causing the caution that froze the field. The yellow made a winner of Lessard, but what was euphoria for one KyleRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service A 17-year-old stole the thunder from the Playoff drivers at Thunder Valley. Driving in a part-time role for GMS Racing, Sam Mayer beat GMS teammate and 2018 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series champion Brett Moffitt to the finish line by 4.413 seconds to win Thursday night’s UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics at Bristol Motor Speedway. Moffitt led 117 of the 200 laps at the .533-mile concrete short track, but, with superior tires for the final run, Mayer passed him for theRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BRISTOL, Tenn. – Top-seeded Brett Moffitt held off determined 17-year-old Chandler Smith after a restart with three laps left and took home the trophy in Thursday night’s UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway. With the victory in the first event of the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Playoffs, Moffitt, the defending series champion, gained an automatic berth in the Round of 6, as other Playoff contenders either overcame adversity or succumbed to it. “It was tough,” Moffitt said in Victory Lane. “Our (No. 24)Read More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent BRISTOL, Tenn. – Chandler Smith was just one spot shy of becoming a playoff spoiler in the UNO200 at the age of 17. The Kyle Busch Motorsports driver dueled with defending NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Champion Brett Moffitt on the final two restarts. Moffitt got the better of Smith’s No. 51 IBuyPower Toyota Tundra on the lap 190 restart at Bristol Motor Speedway. A caution four laps later gave the young driver a second chance. Smith lined up alongside Moffitt. He held his ownRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent BRISTOL, Tenn. – The playoff drivers in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series swept both practices for the Food City 200. Tyler Ankrum was fastest in the first session at Bristol Motor Speedway. The David Gilliland Racing – Crosley Group driver ran a 15.178 second, 126.420 MPH lap in the No. 17 May’s Hawaii Toyota Tundra. Ross Chastain was second fastest, with a 15.249 second, 125.831 MPH lap. Matt Crafton, Raphael Lessard, and Brett Moffitt rounded out the top-five. The rest of the top-10 includedRead More

By Chris Knight, NASCAR Wire Service MADISON, Ill. – A week after having their NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series win stripped due to a post-race technical inspection failure at Iowa Speedway, Ross Chastain and his Niece Motorsports rebutted the disqualification with a thrilling victory in Saturday night’s CarShield 200 presented by CK Power at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. While a contender for the win throughout the event’s third stage, it was a gutsy fuel only call by crew chief Phil Gould on Lap 133 that allowed Chastain toRead More