Chandler Smith Dominates For Second-Straight Truck Win At Wilkesboro

Nobody had anything for Chandler Smith in the final Stage of Saturday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event, as he won by more than eight seconds.

Matt Marrie | Racing America On SI

N. Wilkesboro, N.C. -- On one of the hottest days in recent memory at a race track, Chandler Smith was the man, who came home with the win on Saturday afternoon at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

The Front Row Motorsports driver kept his cool, as he dominated the event, leading a race-high 105 laps in the 250-lap event. And in the closing laps, nobody had anything for Smith, who cruised to the finish line ahead of Layne Riggs, his Front Row Motorsports teammate, by a margin of 8.479 seconds.

After taking the elevator ride up to victory lane, which sits above the Media Center at North Wilkesboro Speedway, Smith admitted it was very, very hot on Saturday.

"Yeah, it was hot, yeah, it was hot," Smith said of the extreme temperatures in the race. "Right off the get-go from the start of the race, I knew we had a really good truck. Just starting to race around guys, and seeing where they were struggling and where my strong suit was."

The win, his second of the season and ninth of his 102-race NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career, marked his second consecutive win at NASCAR's iconic 0.625-mile short track, which was revived a few years ago.

While Riggs, who finished second, was the first loser, the driver was happy with his finish and happy that it was his teammate who came home with the win.

"I just couldn't go anywhere. When it's easiest to gain and lose positions is where I was the most vulnerable today. I had to do it the hard way today, but congratulations to Chandler," Riggs said. "1-2 [finish] for the organization. There was zero controversy this year, so that was great. We just beat them straight up."

Shane van Gisbergen put in one of his best career performances on an oval track, as he collected an impressive third-place finish, driving the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado. SVG will look to parlay the experience he picked up on Saturday into a great run in Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series event.

Christian Eckes, the driver of the No. 91 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet, finished fourth, just ahead of Landen Lewis, a part-time driver of the No. 45 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet.

Gio Ruggiero, Chase Elliott, Stewart Friesen, Corey Heim and Ty Majeski rounded out the top-10 finishers in the race.

Carson Hocevar, who led 74 laps in the race, saw his bid for the win come undone with a cut tire in the closing laps of the second Stage of the race. Hocevar would finish the day 27th, two laps off the pace.

With his runner-up finish, Riggs continues his claim of the top spot in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship standings, as he now leads Kaden Honeycutt by 59 points after North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Honeycutt had a disappointing 11th-place finish, which allowed Riggs to gain more breathing room.

Smith, the race-winner, sits third in the standings, and is now 126 points behind his teammate Riggs.