TALLADEGA, Ala. — Only a few hours after announcing he’ll be competing full time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series next year, Sammy Smith went out and delivered a strong message to the competition — leading the final lap of NASCAR Overtime to claim the win in Friday afternoon’s Love’s RV Stop 225 on the famed Talladega Superspeedway high banks.
Smith’s No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet crossed the finish line a mere 0.091 seconds ahead of a four-wide battle for second place, which ultimately went to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing’s Tyler Ankrum, a scant 0.002 seconds ahead of Smith’s teammate Austin Green, who turned in a tremendous day in his only start of the year. ThorSport’s Ty Majeski and championship leader Kaden Honeycutt joined the dramatic door-to-door rush to the checkered flag.
MORE: Race results | At-track photos: Talladega
It marks Smith’s first career win in the series in his 11th start and sends a strong message to the competition that the 22-year-old Iowa native will be a force for the title when he moves from his current full-time job competing in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series for JR Motorsports.
“Just a great team, [crew chief] Brian Pattie and this whole Spire crew,” Smith said, congratulating his team after leading the most laps (21 of 86) and hoisting his first Truck trophy.
“The truck was fast, and I feel like we did a good job putting ourselves in a good spot. Obviously, lost track position (earlier), but thanks to everyone for this opportunity. I’m looking forward to racing trucks next year, I just want to win races. Thank you to everybody.”
Asked what message the victory sends to his competition next year, Smith smiled and replied, “That I am a winner, and I know I can win, and I got another shot tomorrow [in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series] with my [No. 8] boys.”
It was a fittingly dramatic ending to a race that included five caution periods and a pair of the Talladega “Big Ones” that have so often characterized racing on this track.
The two Truck Series championship leaders, Tricon Garage’s Honeycutt and Front Row Motorsports’ Layne Riggs, both survived the predictably unpredictable action. Riggs, who lined up alongside Smith on the front row for the overtime restart, finished eighth and now trails Honeycutt by 43 points with two races remaining to settle the 2026 championship. It’s likely a two-man race to the title now, with third-place Ty Majeski now 141 points behind Honeycutt.
“I don’t know if I really can [be satisfied] to be honest with you,” said Honeycutt, who steers the No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota and led eight laps. “Just didn’t make the right move [on the final restart].
“I thought the bottom was formed up better than it was. … I wanted to finish the race and get there where we needed to. Had a great run on the 34 [Riggs] and was able to shuffle him out. Felt like he left the gap open pretty far when he was trying to get outside of Ty [Majeski]. Just second plate race in a row I’ve been in a great position to win the race and just didn’t capitalize on it.”
As for the points?
“Never say ‘over’ till it’s over, until after [season finale at] Homestead. I’ve seen it in O’Reilly and in Cup, people can make up 90 points in two races. I’m sure it will be the same guys racing for the clock next week [at Martinsville], so winning means a lot, and if we can go and win a clock, it makes it a lot easier for Homestead for sure.”
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While the championship leaders were able to keep the title run suspenseful, many of the other eight title contenders suffered various problems throughout the day — from 2025 Talladega winner Gio Ruggiero’s truck getting stuck in reverse on pit road immediately after he won Stage 1 to another former Talladega winner Grant Enfinger having a tire go down early and then being collected in a crash later.
McAnally-Hilgemann’s Christian Eckes, who came into the race ranked third in the points, was the first to suffer an issue and leaves Alabama now fifth, 144 points off the championship pace. His teammate, Daniel Hemric, another Chase driver, was eliminated in a crash.
Landen Lewis, Brenden Queen, Riggs, Spencer Boyd, and 2025 series champion Corey Heim rounded out the top 10. It marks Boyd’s first top 10 in two years.
The first large multitruck crash was early and intense – and it involved two of the race’s biggest names — NASCAR Hall of Famer and former multi-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart, as well as media personality and NASCAR newcomer Cleetus McFarland, who was hoping to collect laps in only his third series start.
Both were collected in the melee that started mid-pack on Lap 17 when Stewart Friesen’s Toyota wiggled in Turns 1 and 2 and received contact from Andrés Pérez, triggering a chain-reaction wreck. Eight trucks were involved, including championship-eligible driver Hemric.
Stewart, who was making his second start of the season in the No. 25 Ram truck, was understandably frustrated to only get 16 laps of racing in.
“Definitely wanted to make it a lot further in the race today than that,” Stewart said. “Everyone started wrecking and they came across the track and got me. That’s just hard restrictor plate racing at Talladega.
“I wanted to get a chance to race, because I really enjoy working with Kaulig Racing and Ram. Kaulig is making progress and Ram is doing a good job marketing this sport.”
McFarland, making his third truck start of the season (and his career), was equally as frustrated. He said earlier Friday he was trying to get some track time in hopes of NASCAR granting him permission for more races in other series. His No. 4 Niece Motorsports Chevy was officially scored last in the 36-truck field.
“It just sucks,” McFarland said. “I just honestly saw the wreck and started slowing down heavily and was getting called down, was trying to get down out of the way, and I don’t know how or where, but I just lightly got tapped in the back left and it sent me on a trajectory that bent up the front of my hot rod, and I was just so pissed. It sucked.
“I felt like my truck was really tight, so I got out of the way, and I was riding, having a great race. I was learning. It was phenomenal. Saw the wreck and got on the brakes and was totally good, and then I just got spun and wrecked. It sucks.”
Chandler Smith entered Friday’s race fourth in the Chase standings but wound up with multiple issues, including a flat right-rear tire, a speeding penalty and getting collected in a Lap 57 crash with Jake Garcia and Conner Jones. Smith ultimately rebounded to finish 14th. Majeski overtook Smith and Eckes for third in points, sitting 141 points behind Honeycutt while Smith remains fourth, 142 points out.
MORE: Truck Series standings | Truck Series schedule
Sitting sixth in points and trailing Honeycutt by 177 points, Ruggiero is officially eliminated from championship contention, as are Hemric (minus-194), two-time champion Ben Rhodes (minus-203), Ankrum (minus-214) and Enfinger (minus-219).
Two races remain in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship run. Next up is Friday’s Black’s Tire 200 at Martinsville Speedway at 6 p.m. ET (FS1, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).