Las Vegas — Chandler Smith won Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, taking the checkered flag after a four-lap dash to the finish.
Chandler Smith claimed the win after a last-lap pass of Zane Smith on the backstretch. The final lap began with the two drivers side-by-side as they crossed the start-finish line. Zane Smith pulled ahead in turns one and two, but Chandler Smith had more momentum as they exited onto the backstretch thanks to drafting help from teammate and owner Kyle Busch.
“We were in contention there at the very end and I stuck it three-wide and was able to clear Kyle (Busch) and get around Zane (Smith),” Chandler Smith said. “It was all being in the right places at the right times.”
After the race, Zane Smith’s second-place finish was disqualified for lug nuts that didn’t meet specifications.
Chandler Smith led four times for a race-high 32 laps and claimed his third career NASCAR Truck Series victory.
“I told Danny Stockman, my crew chief that if I ever got clean air, we were going to check out,” Chandler Smith said. “We got clean air and started inching away more and more, but then the cautions kept coming and we were also kind of plate racing. There are so many aero games you can play and things you can do to suck up here. You can’t really drive away from people unless they’re really racing hard behind you and there wasn’t too much of that”
With Zane Smith’s disqualification, Busch finished second. Busch has finished first or second in his last eight Truck Series starts.
“The 18 team was definitely the best truck tonight,” Busch told Fox Sports 1.
The top five was completed by Stewart Friesen, Ryan Preece and Tanner Gray.
After a crash on the last lap, Spencer Boyd was transported to a local medical facility for further evaluation. Boyd told Fox Sports that he had at least a dislocated shoulder.
The final run to the finish occurred after a hard crash by Christian Eckes with nine laps to go. Eckes was leading at the time and trying to fight off Busch. But as they went down the backstretch, Eckes threw a late block and was turned by Busch.
John Hunter Nemechek started from the pole and lost the lead to Busch after two laps. Daytona winner Zane Smith took a turn in the lead when he got by Busch on lap 11.
Smith held the point until the first caution period, which started on Lap 23 when the No. 9 of Blaine Perkins wrecked after he cut down a tire exiting turn two.
Chandler Smith took the lead for the first time by staying out of the pits.
The green flag waved for a matter of seconds before the caution returned, this time for a multi-car wreck in turn one. It included Hailie Deegan, Chase Purdy, Zane Smith and Colby Howard.
The first stage ended under the caution with Ben Rhodes claiming the stage win over Chandler Smith.
The race resumed on Lap 38 with Carson Hocevar in the lead. He’d keep Busch at bay until Lap 46 when Busch passed him going into turn one.
Todd Bodine, making his first Truck Series start since 2013, brought out the fourth caution on Lap 56 for a spin exiting turn four. He got loose on his own and backed into the outside wall. He brought out another caution with 45 laps to go for another wreck. Bodine finished 22nd.
As a result of the first Bodine incident, the second stage ended in a one-lap shootout which saw Ty Majeski push Rhodes to the lead. Rhodes then had to fend off a charge from Busch to complete the stage sweep.
Busch assumed the lead under caution, with Nemechek in second and Chandler Smith in third.
Nemechek began challenging for the lead on Lap 70 and took it from Busch on Lap 72, moments before the caution flag returned for wreck involving the No. 24 Chevrolet driven by Jack Wood.
After the second caution for Bodine, Chandler Smith took the lead from Nemechek on the restart. The green flag was only out for a couple laps until Hocevar was spun from contact with Ryan Preece out exiting turn fourwith 37 laps to go.
The race only resumed for one lap before Rhodes, the defending series champion, became the latest driver to get caught up in a wreck. He was turned into the outside wall from contact with his own teammate, Majeski, as they began to enter turn one.
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