Chandler Smith steals OT win in NASCAR Truck Series opener
- Last updated: February 14, 2026 | 09:40 ..
Chandler Smith came from the middle of nowhere to win the Fresh from Florida 250 in overtime at Daytona International Speedway on Friday and immediately gave credit where credit was due.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, Ty Majeski!" Smith shouted after taking the checkered flag in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season opener at the 2.5-mile superspeedway.
In a star-studded race featuring five full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers, NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart, daredevil Travis Pastrana and YouTube sensation Cleetus McFarland, the two Truck Series regulars combined to put a Ford in Victory Lane.
Driving the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports F-150, Smith was sixth as the lead group rounded Turn 3 on the second lap of overtime, with John Hunter Nemechek out front. But as Nemechek moved up the track to attempt a late block on Gio Ruggiero, Smith steamed through in the open bottom lane with a strong push from Majeski.
"He is all credit to how we just won that race, truthfully," Smith said of Majeski's push. "He stayed committed to a Ford and pushed a blue oval to a win. ...
"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."
Ruggiero came home second in his No. 17 TRICON Garage Toyota, 0.044 seconds behind Smith at the stripe. Christian Eckes was third, with Majeski and Nemechek in a virtual dead heat for fourth and fifth.
"Yeah, it was tight there at the end of the race," said Ruggiero, who also finished second in last year's Daytona opener. "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 (Gray) and Taylor (Gray) worked together really well, but everybody else just seemed like they were out there on their own."
Cup driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was sixth, followed by Brenden "Butterbean" Queen, the highest finishing Ram driver in the brand's first NASCAR competition since 2012.
The Truck Series debut of Garrett Mitchell, a.k.a. Cleetus McFarland, didn't last long.
Approaching the tri-oval on Lap 6, McFarland's No. 4 Chevrolet broke loose, spun out of control, slammed into the inside wall and plowed through the infield grass, cutting a swath more than 100 yards long.
After a trip to the infield care center, Cleetus summed up his first Truck Series race succinctly.
"I'm an idiot," he said.
An accident on Lap 36 took another marquee driver out of the equation. Jake Garcia, running in the middle lane, lost control of his No. 98 Ford on the frontstretch and pinched the No. 25 Ram of Stewart into the outside wall.
Attempted repairs to Stewart's truck proved futile, and Stewart, a three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, took the No. 25 to the garage.
"I felt comfortable being three-wide on the top there," said Stewart, competing in a NASCAR event for the first time since 2016. "I didn't feel like we were putting ourselves in jeopardy. Hard thing is, I'm not really sure what happened that got us there, but we just ended up on the wrong end of that stick."
Midway through the second stage, Daniel Hemric, running seventh at the time, was black-flagged for a missing spoiler brace and lost three laps under repairs.
The race featured a record 32 lead changes among 12 drivers and six cautions for 31 laps. Michael McDowell, Carson Hocevar and Justin Haley each led 20 laps, but none of the three finished in the top 10.
Reuters