What to Watch: High stakes and a treat for purists make North Wilkesboro’s renewal complete

Posted on July 18, 2026July 19, 2026 by Zack Albert

Track: North Wilkesboro Speedway
Location: North Wilkesboro, North Carolina
Track length: 0.625 miles
When: 7 p.m. ET
Where to tune in: TNT Sports, truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Race purse: $11,233,037
Race distance: 450 laps | 281.25 miles
Segments: 80 | 265 | 450
Sunday’s starting lineup | Pit-stall assignments

Turning back the clock for a historic track’s next milestone

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — It was 30 years ago that North Wilkesboro Speedway last hosted a points-paying event for NASCAR’s top division. How times have changed in the 10,885 days since.

Sunday night’s Window World 450 marks another step in the remarkable revival of the historic foothills oval, which hosts a by-God points race at a cornerstone track in stock-car racing’s foundation. It’s a crucial one, the semifinals of a lucrative In-Season Challenge tournament, plus another progress checkpoint before the Cup Series winds down the regular season to decide who races for a championship and who doesn’t. It’s also a reminder of the sport’s evolution and how the old-school formula that’s been here since NASCAR’s earliest days still works.

MORE: Weekend schedule | At-track photos

When the series, then known as the Winston Cup Series, last raced a full-fledged event here in 1996, there were no tournaments (in-season or otherwise), overtimes, playoffs, eliminations or Chase postseasons. The two drivers named Chase in Sunday’s field — Briscoe and Elliott — had blown out one birthday candle between them at that point, and two more current-day drivers — Tyler Reddick and Erik Jones — would be just months old then. All four would become Cup Series winners, nearly a generation-plus after North Wilkesboro’s supposedly final checkered flag flew.

Jeff Gordon was the no-surprise victor that seasonable September afternoon, leading 207 of 400 laps to score the last of his 10 wins in a meteoric breakout season. Thirty years later, he’s still with Hendrick Motorsports but as a senior executive in the team’s front office. Three generations of Cup Series cars have also passed in the three-decade interim since Gordon’s dominant Wilkes County drive, with the more advanced Next Gen racer replacing the Gen-4 model that made mid-’90s crew chiefs the sultans of skew.

Drivers have always had to watch their bumpers here, dating back to the days when Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Bobby Allison weaponized their cars like lancers trying to knock their opponents off their mounts. This weekend, NASCAR rules have mandated a less-rigid front bumper configuration, decreasing some of the energy-sapping foam and bracing to keep drivers from absorbing some of the hard knocks that come with short-track contact. The car may pay the penalty, instead.

“There’s nothing behind that bumper. I mean, all the foam is gone,” said pole-starter Ryan Blaney. “It’s just bodywork, so they’re gonna be pretty flimsy, for sure. I was fortunate in the previous generation car that that was what it was. You had to be really, really careful with the nose and the right side and stuff like that, so I feel like I have some experience [with how] you have to really be mindful of that stuff. Some guys, I think, who have only driven this car, they didn’t get to experience that in the other car, but that stuff is gonna be flimsy, so you’re really gonna have to be careful on stack-ups, laying the bumper to somebody.”

The on-track jockeying that’s sure to come Sunday night will have some big-picture corollaries in the points standings with just six races remaining in the Cup Series regular season. The heavyweight clash for The Chase’s top seed has already been a slugfest, and Denny Hamlin’s snug 24-point edge over early leader Tyler Reddick has the potential to be a back-and-forth affair — with recent riser Ryan Blaney possibly making it a three-driver fight.

The half-dozen races before the 16-driver Chase field is set should also be hotly contested near the postseason’s elimination line. Jones has a less-than-commanding grip on the provisional final spot, by just eight points over three-time Cup champion Joey Logano, with five more drivers within just a 50-point span behind that transfer position.

In the later years of its first era, North Wilkesboro traditionally held a late September date near the season finale. That placement on the racing calendar often made the 0.625-mile bullring a pivotal venue, where championship races could often hinge on the outcome.

MORE: Goodyear tire notes: North Wilkesboro

The results didn’t matter in terms of Cup Series points the last three years, when North Wilkesboro hosted the annual NASCAR All-Star Race as part of the facility’s resurrection. But the atmosphere was the most electric of all the All-Star venues since the race went into a rotation mode post-COVID, feeding the prevailing thought that the historic track was deserving of a points event. A grandstand sellout, announced by the track Saturday afternoon, bears that out.

Two of the few things missing from fully reviving the North Wilkesboro tradition are a 1 p.m. start time and the lovingly prepared fried chicken that made up the track’s proper Sunday lunch. In later years, the locally favored Holly Farms poultry brand had been absorbed by corporate overlord Tyson, but it never stopped the customary meal from finding race-day plates, frizzled to a succulent golden brown.

The Sunday table is once again set for a pure throwback to the sport’s roots. Enjoy the feast.

“A full field for a full-length Cup race at North Wilkesboro? Come on!” Christopher Bell, last year’s All-Star winner here, told PRN Radio. “It’s gonna be a wild race, I think it’s going to be a great race. I’ve been excited about this one for a long time.”

James Gilbert | Getty Images

In the details …

Despite a fractured wrist, Christopher Bell has regained his peak form with three consecutive top-five results, including back-to-back runner-up results at Chicagoland Speedway and EchoPark Speedway.

The No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver now owns five second-place finishes this season, joining a list of elite drivers who have been a bridesmaid many times in a single season. Can Bell finally break through for his first 2026 triumph at a track where he’s the most recent winner?

DRIVER	SEASON	SECOND-PLACE FINISHES
Harry Gant	1981	7
Terry Labonte	1982	6
Kyle Larson	2018	6
Glen Wood	1959	5
Richard Petty	1982	5
Kasey Kahne	2004	5
Dale Earnhardt Jr.	2013	5
Chase Elliott	2017	5
Christopher Bell	2026	5

Contributing: Cameron Richardson

Speed reads

Race-day essentials:

• North Wilkesboro hub: Key information, pit stalls, additional results | Read more
• Sunday Setup: See what crew chiefs have in mind for Sunday night | Read more
• In-Season Challenge: Bracket, format, schedule and more for Round 4 | Read more
• Analysis: How Blaney forced his way into Hamlin-Reddick title fight | Read more
• Paint Scheme Preview: Fresh looks for Sunday’s 450-lapper under the lights | View gallery
• Hauler Talk: NASCAR on reasoning behind penalizing Wallace for line violation | Listen now
• NASCAR Classics: Reminisce with full-race replays from North Wilkesboro | Watch now
• Power Rankings: Hocevar backs up talk, shines, surges in EchoPark spotlight | This week’s ranks

Posted on July 18, 2026 by Staff Report

Inclement weather at North Wilkesboro Speedway forced the cancelation of NASCAR Cup Series qualifying Saturday, with a delayed 50-minute practice session taking place instead. The starting lineup for the first points-paying Cup Series race at the track since 1996 was set according to the NASCAR Rule Book. The Window World 450 is scheduled for a 7 p.m. ET start Sunday night (TNT Sports, truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Ryan Blaney is set to lead the field to green in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford at the 0.625-mile North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, facility. Ty Gibbs will start alongside Blaney on the front row.

Ross Chastain is listed 13th in the starting lineup but must drop to the rear before the start and serve a pass-through penalty after taking the green flag following three failed pre-race inspection attempts.

Full starting lineup for the Window World 450:

Starting Position	Car No.	Driver Name
1	12	Ryan Blaney
2	54	Ty Gibbs
3	20	Christopher Bell
4	77	Carson Hocevar
5	45	Tyler Reddick
6	43	Erik Jones
7	11	Denny Hamlin
8	97	Shane van Gisbergen
9	17	Chris Buescher
10	9	Chase Elliott
11	22	Joey Logano
12	3	Austin Dillon
13	1	Ross Chastain
14	2	Austin Cindric
15	24	William Byron
16	71	Michael McDowell
17	7	Daniel Suarez
18	34	Todd Gilliland
19	42	John Hunter Nemechek
20	41	Cole Custer
21	60	Ryan Preece
22	10	Ty Dillon
23	6	Brad Keselowski
24	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
25	48	Alex Bowman
26	23	Bubba Wallace
27	5	Kyle Larson
28	21	Josh Berry
29	38	Zane Smith
30	19	Chase Briscoe
31	4	Noah Gragson
32	88	Connor Zilisch
33	33	Austin Hill
34	35	Riley Herbst
35	16	AJ Allmendinger
36	51	Cody Ware
37	66	Chad Finchum

Posted on July 18, 2026July 19, 2026 by Zack Albert

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — The last time NASCAR Cup Series cars turned laps at North Wilkesboro Speedway, the setting was an organizational test in the short, frigid days of mid-January. Weather for the return trip this weekend has been quite the opposite.

Searing mid-July heat toasted the speedway grounds Friday and Saturday as anticipation built for Sunday’s Window World 450 (7 p.m. ET, TNT Sports, truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the historic short track’s first Cup Series points race in nearly 30 years. Though Sunday’s main event will be held in the relative cooling of nightfall, temperatures cresting the 90-degree mark during the height of the day have created far different conditions for Sunday’s summertime showdown.

“We did learn some things, but to say we learned what the balance needs to be to come back here in July is is pretty far-fetched,” said Spire Motorsports crew chief Ryan Sparks, who estimated it to be “about 30 degrees” when his driver, Daniel Suárez, tested the team’s No. 7 Chevrolet here last winter. “So with extreme temperatures this weekend, you know grip is going to be at a premium. So, but it’s good, old-fashioned short-track racing, just looking for mechanical grip. I’ve got a good group of guys that know what they’re doing here and looking forward to just getting on track. But yeah, the times that we’ve been here, I don’t think are going to relate at all. So you’re just going to have to go with your gut instinct on a lot of these calls.”

Sunday’s event will also be vastly different from a procedural standpoint. North Wilkesboro has been a part of the NASCAR calendar since its revival from the ruins for the 2023 schedule, but the last three seasons, the track has hosted the non-points NASCAR All-Star Race for a shorter field running a shorter distance. The return of a points-paying event will mean a full 37-car grid set for a record 450 laps, later in the year than the mid-May All-Star exhibition and with a full field filling the allotment of pit stalls.

Another new wrinkle — a potentially literal wrinkle — is a new front-bumper configuration for Cup Series cars on short tracks. The rules update makes its debut this weekend, and the removal of some energy-absorbing foam and other bumper bracing is expected to discourage drivers from initiating harsh contact by increasing the potential for cars to sustain damage more easily.

The concern that introduces for teams is the likewise potential for terminal damage to the front-mounted radiator, something crew chiefs will coach their drivers to manage — especially on a tight 0.625-mile layout where close-knit contact and restart jam-ups come with frequency.

“I mean, obviously it’s still a bit of an unknown,” said Paul Wolfe, crew chief for Joey Logano’s Team Penske No. 22 Ford. “We looked it over this week together and just kind of talked through it. I don’t think anybody really knows exactly how it’s going to react, but it’s definitely not going to be robust like what we’ve gotten accustomed to, right? So just being mindful. The radiator and all, that’s the biggest concern, like it used to be. That’s what used to happen. We’d have those big stack-ups and knock radiators out of them. So yeah, I think until we just get on track and really see what they are, I don’t think we’re really going to know what we have. So we’re mindful of it, and you try not to be the ones that have the first issue.”

MORE: Weekend schedule | Goodyear notes for North Wilkesboro

One factor that could provide a constant is the Goodyear tire configuration for the weekend, a familiar setup that’s been used in other short-track settings — most recently at Martinsville Speedway in late March. Cup Series teams put the package to the test Saturday evening in a 50-minute practice, topped by 2025 North Wilkesboro All-Star winner Christopher Bell.

The session was held later in the day Saturday after pole qualifying was washed out by afternoon storms, potentially giving teams a more apt comparison point that aligns with a 7 p.m. ET start time. While those rains provided a brief respite from the punishing heat, another scorcher is expected for Sunday, when teams are expected to fight anew for grip.

“I mean, obviously, we kind of know what our limits are with load, cambers, toes, things like that, so it puts us in a good spot coming here,” Sparks says. “But like I said, this is going to be such a different animal we’re having to attack, with just the style of this race track and the way it loads up itself, and then with the extreme temperatures. So you can’t do exactly what your historical notes show, but you at least have some good data points on knowing what has been a good direction previously.”

Posted on July 18, 2026July 18, 2026 by Staff Report

See where your favorite NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers will pit this weekend at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR Cup Series Window World 450 (7 p.m. ET, TNT Sports, truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series FaithFest 250 (12:30 p.m. ET, FS1, FOX One, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on July 18, 2026July 19, 2026 by Reid Spencer

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — “Great lap,” quipped Ryan Blaney on Saturday as he addressed reporters in the North Wilkesboro Speedway media center.

Of course, there was no lap after rain drenched the 0.625-mile short track and forced the cancellation of qualifying for Sunday’s Window World 450 (7 p.m. ET, TNT Sports, truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

As a result, Blaney will lead the field to green in the first NASCAR Cup Series points race at the track in three decades.

Last Sunday’s winner at EchoPark Speedway, Blaney is third in the series standings, 65 points behind leader Denny Hamlin and 41 behind second-place Tyler Reddick.

With the top starting spot in Sunday’s race, he’s poised to make a dent in those deficits. Nevertheless, there are potential hazards that concern Blaney entering the race, notably the “softer” noses of the Cup cars.

“It’s the first race with the new bumper structure, and there’s nothing behind that bumper,” Blaney said. “I mean, all the foam is gone. It’s just body work, so they’re going to be pretty flimsy, for sure.

“Some guys, I think, who have only driven this car, they didn’t get to experience that in the other (previous generation) car, but that stuff is going to be flimsy, so you’re really going to have to be careful on stack-ups, laying the bumper to somebody.”

Ty Gibbs will take the green flag from the second position, with Christopher Bell and Carson Hocevar third and fourth, respectively, on the second row. Reddick is fifth on the grid, followed by Erik Jones, Hamlin, Shane van Gisbergen, Chris Buescher and Chase Elliott.

Blaney faces Bell in the semifinals of the $1-million In-Season Challenge, with Elliott taking on 18th-place starter Todd Gilliland in the other semi.

“I feel like that’s going to be a real heck of a battle between me and Christopher this weekend,” Blaney said. “They run really good on short tracks. We have a history of running really good on short tracks.

“He won the All-Star Race here last year, so he’s going to be really tough competition. So that’s going to be a heck of a battle… It’s been fun to be a part of it, that’s for sure. I got knocked out after Round 1 last year, so it’s been fun to go through the bracket and see who you’re up against.”

Three teams had inspection issues on Saturday. The No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet of Austin Hill and No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet of Connor Zilisch failed pre-race inspection twice and lost pit-stall selection and the services of their car chiefs.

The No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet of Ross Chastain failed three times. In addition to losing pit-stall selection and having car chief David Fero ejected, Chastain must drop to the rear of the field before the start and serve a pass-through penalty after taking the green flag.

Bell tops leaderboard in practice

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell topped Saturday’s delayed 50-minute NASCAR Cup Series practice session at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

The driver of the No. 20 Toyota set the pace at 123.477 mph over teammate Denny Hamlin (123.382 mph) and Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain (123.065 mph).

Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron (122.816 mph) and Chase Elliott (122.809 mph) rounded out the top five.

MORE: Practice results

Ty Gibbs (122.803 mph), Kyle Larson (122.762 mph), Josh Berry (122.749 mph), Joey Logano (122.622 mph) and Chris Buescher (122.522 mph) completed the top 10.

While Chastain was quickest in five-lap average speed, Bell led the 10-, 15-, 20-, 25- and 30-lap averages.

Posted on July 18, 2026July 18, 2026 by Reid Spencer

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — With a handlebar mustache straight out of “Tombstone Territory” and a laid-back, affable personality, Ryan Blaney has the potential to expand his presence beyond racing.

Jeff Gordon extended NASCAR’s reach in 2003 when he hosted “Saturday Night Live,” and Blaney wouldn’t mind following in the four-time champion’s footsteps.

“I would love to,” Blaney said when asked whether he would like to host the show. “That’s probably P1 on my bucket list. I would love to do SNL. I’m a big SNL fan.

“That’s a big commitment, though. If you guest-host SNL, you’re gone for a week. I don’t really have a week in my schedule, unless it’s in the winter. Maybe one day. That would be really, really neat.”

MORE: North Wilkesboro schedule

Blaney already has his musical guest picked out.

“I’m good buddies with Whiskey Myers,” he said. “I think they would put on a pretty good show.”

Blaney does have a brief history in television. He had a guest role in 2019 on the Magnum P.I. episode “Winner Takes All.”

“That one actually worked out fun, because I was vacationing in Hawaii, in Maui, and they filmed it in Honolulu,” Blaney said. “They said, ‘Hey, can you come film this now?’ and yeah, so I took a puddle jumper over to Honolulu and filmed it.

“That was just neat because the timing of it worked out pretty cool.”

Posted on July 18, 2026July 19, 2026 by Staff Report

Three NASCAR Cup Series teams have been penalized following Saturday’s pre-race inspection at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

The No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, driven by Ross Chastain, failed inspection three times, resulting in the ejection of car chief David Fero and loss of pit-stall selection. Chastain must also drop to the rear of the field prior to the start of Sunday’s Window World 450 and serve a pass-through penalty following the green flag of Sunday’s race (7 p.m. ET, TNT Sports, truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

MORE: North Wilkesboro schedule | Qualifying rained out

Chastain, still seeking his first victory of the 2026 campaign, maintained an optimistic outlook despite the glum impact on the start of his 450-lap odyssey.

“If the car’s fast, it won’t matter,” Chastain said. “Plenty of laps, so yeah, not worried.”

Additionally, the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet driven by Austin Hill and the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet driven by Connor Zilisch both failed Saturday’s inspection twice. As a result, No. 33 car chief Clay Alexander Jr. and No. 88 car chief Eddie D’Hondt Jr. were each ejected from the event, and both teams lost pit-stall selection.

Saturday’s qualifying session was canceled, so the starting lineup for Sunday’s race was set according to the NASCAR Rule Book. Ryan Blaney will lead the field to the green flag.

Posted on July 18, 2026July 18, 2026 by Zach Sturniolo

Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session at North Wilkesboro Speedway has been canceled due to inclement weather.

Late-afternoon storms rolled over the Wilkes County short track shortly after the conclusion of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race and lingered, washing out Saturday’s time trials. NASCAR held a 50-minute practice session Saturday evening instead of the qualifying session once rain cleared the area.

MORE: North Wilkesboro schedule | At-track photos

In lieu of qualifying, the starting lineup will be set by the NASCAR Rule Book, placing last week’s EchoPark Speedway winner and 2023 Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney on the pole position for Sunday’s Window World 450 (7 p.m. ET, TNT Sports, truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Sunday’s race marks the first points-paying event at North Wilkesboro since 1996, when Jeff Gordon held off Dale Earnhardt for the victory. The 0.625-mile oval is the site of an unlikely revival that culminated in hosting the NASCAR All-Star Race from 2023 through 2025 before returning in full to the NASCAR Cup Series calendar this season.

Posted on July 18, 2026July 18, 2026 by Zack Albert

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Steam rose from every under-hood escape route possible after Christian Eckes’ No. 91 Chevrolet came to a halt on North Wilkesboro Speedway’s sweltering pit road. Eckes was similarly cooked after making his exit, baking after his cool-suit system failed early on one of the worst possible days for such a malfunction.

The conditions made the McAnally-Hilgemann Racing driver’s second consecutive top-five result in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series all the more remarkable, fighting through oppressive heat for fourth place in Saturday’s FaithFest 250. Eckes had radioed his crew that he was in trouble with overheating after the checkered flag. Though he waved off safety workers there to attend to him post-race, he willingly accepted every other cooling aid that his crew provided — ice packs, cascading water bottles and a cold towel.

The result and the improvement it took to get there helped sustain him.

“It was a good showing, for sure,” Eckes said after a brief post-race recovery period. “It was hot in there. My cool shirt failed, I think, rolling off pit road, so that didn’t help anything. Yeah, it was hot out there and slick, and it was fun because we finally got our truck driving OK.”

The No. 91 team’s betterment came in less than a 24-hour span from Friday’s preliminaries to Saturday’s feature. Eckes was just 20th on the practice sheet, then qualified 18th in the 36-truck field. His upward surge from Saturday’s midpack berth resulted in a points payoff at both stage breaks, then a steady presence among the top five for the duration of the final stage, which went green all the way.

“I mean that was just the icing on top of all the effort he put in, because our truck wasn’t very good yesterday and we did a lot of work to it, but I mean he just drove it hard the whole day,” No. 91 crew chief Dave Elenz told NASCAR.com. “Unfortunately, the cool suit failed, and I mean, it’s hot even on top of the pit box, so in there it’s more miserable. Had a heat shield issue on top of that, so he had a lot of things he was facing. I think if we had a shorter run to the end, we would have been right there. But just amazing that he’s able to do it and work that hard. He’s got a lot of talent to be able to be in that much pain and still be as fast as he is.”

Zack Albert | NASCAR Digital Media

Further complicating matters was an injury he suffered nearly a month ago in San Diego, where a severe sprain to his left foot from a misstep on a jagged Naval Base Coronado surface hobbled him. He battled through the rigors of last weekend’s road-course meet at Lime Rock Park to a fifth-place run. Saturday, Eckes said the foot was still taped up with help from physicians at Atrium Health and that he managed this weekend at North Wilkesboro needing only ibuprofen to combat the pain.

“He’s not had an easy go of it driving,” Elenz said, “so hopefully we get him back to full health, get all the stuff working for him, and he can really show what he has.”

Eckes has registered top-10 finishes in six of the last seven races, a level of consistency that’s slotted him fourth in the Craftsman Truck Series standings. It’s been a solid return to trucks for the 25-year-old driver, who spent last season in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series before returning to the circuit and the team where he’s enjoyed some of his career’s biggest successes.

MORE: Craftsman Truck Series standings

The fellow drivers he’s chasing on the Truck Series’ current pecking order have enjoyed stretches of dominance and trips to Victory Lane. Front Row Motorsports’ Layne Riggs has gone on a midseason tear atop the standings, teammate Chandler Smith added to his win tally in Saturday’s 250-lapper and Kaden Honeycutt has capably steered the No. 11 Tricon Garage entry that Corey Heim took to the title last year.

Three races — all at tracks measuring roughly a mile or shorter — remain in the Craftsman Truck Series regular season, and Eckes & Co. aim to make strides in tracking down the trio ahead of them.

“We’re definitely building,” Elenz said. “We’re not where we need to be. There’s a lot of things that we need to work on, but him and I are building together and understanding each other more. We hadn’t really been to the short tracks other than Bristol, so this is a good showing for us, makes us excited about the next three here. So it’s been a challenging season, but I think we’re pointed in the right direction.”

Said Eckes: “Yeah, I definitely wanted some more, but you know, after some of these weeks, fourth place isn’t bad. So we’ve just got to keep moving forward and try to get better.”

Posted on July 18, 2026July 18, 2026 by Reid Spencer

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Last year at North Wilkesboro Speedway, Chandler Smith led one lap after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race over Front Row Motorsports teammate Layne Riggs.

In sharp contrast, Smith was the quintessence of dominance on Saturday, leading the final 105 laps to claim victory in the FaithFest 250 presented by Mercer Transportation, again with series leader Riggs securing second place.

Last year’s race ended under caution after the trucks of Riggs and Corey Heim collided on the last lap. On Saturday, Smith ran away with the race in the final stage, beating Riggs to the finish line by 8.479 seconds — a record margin of victory on a short track in Truck Series history.

“We’re ready to rip,” Smith said after a race run in extreme heat on the 0.625-mile asphalt surface. “If the Lord wills it, we don’t plan on backing down from here going forward. We were just biding our time, keeping the fenders clean and taking what (the No. 38 Ford) would give me.”

Smith took the lead off pit road for a Lap 152 restart to begin the final stage and never looked back. Riggs restarted eighth and worked his way to second on Lap 210 but had nothing for his teammate over the final 40 circuits.

The race ran without a caution for the final 99 laps.

“Part of me wanted to have a restart,” Riggs said. “Part of me knew if that happened there was probably going to be some carnage. So I was very happy just finishing the race there, knowing our teammate got the win. Congratulations to Chandler. He did a great job.”

Riggs, who won the opening stage and led 25 laps, had to overcome the heat to hold second over third-place finisher and Cup Series regular Shane van Gisbergen, who matched his best NASCAR national series finish on an oval track.

“It was hot today,” Riggs acknowledged. “I ice-bagged on every stop. My cool shirt was on—I took it off already. It was probably one of the hottest races I’ve ever been in. I think we need to add some heat shields to these things…

“But my mind stayed sharp, and I stayed in the game.”

Riggs extended his series lead to 59 points over 11th-place finisher Kaden Honeycutt.

Christian Eckes finished fourth, followed by Landen Lewis, who scored his second straight top-five finish after a runner-up run last Saturday at Lime Rock Park.

Gio Ruggiero, Chase Elliott, Stewart Friesen, Heim and Stage 2 winner Ty Majeski completed the top 10.

The race for the final spots in the postseason Chase tightened on Saturday. With three races left to set The Chase field, Friesen and 19th-place finisher Tyler Ankrum are tied for the 10th and final postseason berth, with Jake Garcia just 11 points back in 12th place after coming home 13th at North Wilkesboro.

MORE: Eckes holds off the heat, perseveres for North Wilkesboro top five

Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar led 74 laps but couldn’t recover from a cut left-front tire that dropped him two laps down and relegated him to a 27th-place finish.

The Craftsman Truck Series returns to action on Friday for the TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (8 p.m. ET, FS1, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NOTE: Post-race inspection was completed in the Craftsman Truck Series garage, confirming Smith as the winner. The No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet had one lug nut not safe and secure and will lose pit-stall selection at its next event.