No one, not even Chandler Smith, expected Chandler Smith to come from fifth to first on the final lap of Friday night's thrilling NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Daytona to kick off 2026 with a win.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- No one, not even Chandler Smith, expected Chandler Smith to come from fifth to first on the final lap of Friday night's thrilling NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Daytona to kick off 2026 with a win.
While John Hunter Nemechek led coming off of turn four, Gio Ruggiero wasn't content to ride in second. Ruggiero wiggled Nemechek around enough to open up a lane to the outside, giving him room to sneak between Nemechek and Christian Eckes. Nemechek went to defend Ruggiero, leaving the bottom open for Chandler Smith to blow by all of them and take the win.
Smith led just twice all night -- for seven laps when he won stage two and the final lap. He credited Ty Majeski with the help he needed to lead the final lap and kick off the season in style.
"I was surprised the 62 (Nemechek) didn't block it. I was just -- the seas literally just parted, and the 88 (Majeski) stayed committed to me, and like I said, thank you, thank you, thank you, Ty Majeski. Definitely got to owe you one on that one," Smith said. "Ty Majeski, one of my best four teammates I've ever worked with. He is all credit to how we just won that race truthfully. He stayed committed to a Ford and pushed a blue oval to a win."
Gio Ruggiero, Christian Eckes, Ty Majeski, John Hunter Nemechek, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Brenden "Butterbean" Queen, Kaden Honeycutt, Tyler Ankrum, Stewart Friesen rounded out the top-10.
Although Ruggiero and Nemechek were teammates through Toyota, Ruggiero said he didn't see it that way.
Yeah, it was tight there at the end of the race. Everybody was trying to do whatever it takes to win, and that's what I did for myself and my team.
"Probably would have pushed John Hunter to the win there, but he almost wrecked me twice. I think overall as a group, we need to do better as Toyotas. I thought me and Tanner and Taylor worked together really well, but everybody else just seemed like they were out there on their own. I definitely think we learned some things going into the next superspeedway," Ruggiero said.
Nemechek had an even tone when talking about the finish, admitting he could've done more himself.
"Pretty frustrated with myself. Just hard to cover all the lanes there. Should have got to the middle and blocked the 17 a little bit faster than I did," Nemechek said. "Didn't anticipate it quite like I probably should have off of Turn 4. But man, it was one heck of a race. It was a lot of fun all night. We came from the back to the front multiple times."
Although Nemechek didn't win, he led three times for 10 laps and ensured Halmar-Friesen Racing had two trucks in the top-10 for boss Stewart Friesen's return after a severe injury cut Friesen's 2025 season short. Nemechek also took notes for what to expect in Sunday's Daytona 500.
"Like I said, it was a lot of fun. I learned a lot. Hopefully I can apply something to Sunday. Hayden and I will probably go back and watch some film there, but overall a really fun race. Just dejected we didn't come home with a checkered flag," Nemechek said.
The race featured a record 32 lead changes and two laps of overtime. In all, 12 drivers led the race -- led by Michael McDowell, Carson Hocevar and Justin Haley who each led 20 laps apiece. McDowell and Hocevar each led eight times while Haley led twice.
STAGE ONE TOP-10 (LAP 20): Carson Hocevar, Tanner Gray, Christian Eckes, John Hunter Nemechek, Michael McDowell, Kaden Honeycutt, Ty Majeski, Taylor Gray, Brenden Queen and Grant Enfinger.
STAGE TWO TOP-10 (LAP 40): Chandler Smith, Layne Riggs, Ty Majeski, Taylor Gray, Michael McDowell, Nick Leitz, Christian Eckes, Corey LaJoie, John Hunter Nemechek and Ben Rhodes.
NEXT: Fr8 Racing 208 at EchoPark Atlanta Motor Speedway, Sat. Feb. 21, at 1:30 p.m. ET; FS1, NASCAR Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
