Sammy Smith Surges Past Majeski, Honeycutt to Win Talladega Truck Race

What a day it was for Sammy Smith Friday at Talladega Superspeedway. In the morning, the driver announced that he'll head to the NASCAR Truck Series full-time in 2027, as he'll pilot the No. 15 TRICON Garage Toyota.

In the afternoon, Smith emerged victorious in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Love's RV Stop 225, driving the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. It was a whirlwind day, made even crazier considering Smith looked to be out of contention for the win as he was in third place coming off of Turn 4 on the final lap.

Then, as Ty Majeski and Kaden Honeycutt were side-by-side for the lead, Smith blasted past them both with an incredible shove from behind from Tyler Ankrum. While Ankrum gave him the last jolt he needed to find Victory Lane, Smith, who led a race-high 21 laps, was proud of the overall effort from his No. 7 team all day long.

"Just a great team, honestly. [Crew chef] Brian Pattie and the whole 7 Spire crew. Michael Fisher did a great job up on the spotter's stand. The truck was fast, and I felt like we did a good job putting ourselves in a good spot," Smith said after claiming his first career NASCAR Truck Series win.

While he came up shy of the win by 0.091 seconds, Ankrum was rewarded for the race-winning shove, as he took a runner-up finish, which allowed him to move up two spots in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Chase standings from 10th to eighth.

Austin Green, who was recently let go from Peterson Racing mid-season in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, made the most of his NASCAR Truck Series debut, driving the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. The son of former NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series champion, David Green, led 14 laps on the day, and came home with a third-place finish.

Majeski, who appeared to have a solid chance at victory as he came off of Turn 4 for the final time, would be credited with a fourth-place finish at the line, and he was followed across the finish line by Honeycutt, who retained his series point lead with the top-five performance.

Still, Honeycutt was disappointed in himself for letting the win slip away.

"Damn, just didn't make the right move. I should have stayed onto Majeski a little bit longer and made my move a little bit later," Honeycutt explained. "I thought the bottom was formed up better than what it was. And once I looked back and saw it was so separated, and once he side-drafted me, it pulled me back pretty hard. I didn't have an opportunity to block without wrecking myself."

While he was disappointed, Honeycutt will exit Talladega Superspeedway with a 42-point advantage over Layne Riggs with just two races remaining in the championship battle.

Landen Lewis, Brenden Queen, Layne Riggs, Spencer Boyd, and Corey Heim rounded out the top-10 finishers in the Love's RV 225 at Talladega.

After the race, Riggs, who finished eighth, had a discussion with Majeski, a fellow Ford Racing driver, after the race. Riggs felt like Majeski didn't do him any favors in the closing laps, which led to him getting hung out to dry in the closing laps.

"I've seen it, now. I don't know what that was. That's not what we do as Ford teammates," Riggs said after watching the replay.

Riggs, the pre-Chase favorite to win the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship, now has a lot of heavy lifting ahead of him if he hopes to hoist the championship trophy at the end of the race at Homestead-Miami Speedway in a couple of weeks.

Friday afternoon's race was plagued by cut tires, which led to some sketchy moments on track, including a massive melee on Lap 17, which ended the day for seven drivers, including Tony Stewart and Cleetus McFarland, who took massive impacts in the crash.

All drivers were checked and released from the infield care center after the hard impacts on Lap 17.

Updated Chase Grid (Two Races Remaining)

1. Kaden Honeycutt, 2,355 points
2. Layne Riggs, -42
3. Chandler Smith, -126
4. Christian Eckes, -128
5. Ty Majeski, -134
6. Gio Ruggiero, -171
7. Daniel Hemric, -178
8. Tyler Ankrum, -198
9. Ben Rhodes, -200
10. Grant Enfinger, -203

Love's RV Stop 225 Race Results

(C) indicates a Chase contender
# indicates a Rookie of the Year contender
(i) indicates a driver ineligible to score points