Chandler Smith goes from third to first to win North Wilkesboro Truck thriller

For most of the NASCAR Truck race at North Wilkesboro, Corey Heim was firmly in control. It was a dominant performance that didn’t end with a victory celebration, but bitterness and anger for the driver of the No. 11 TRICON Toyota.

In an overtime finish, Heim had to deal with two Front Row Motorsports drivers harassing him for the race win. Layne Riggs got a big run from the outside and pulled underneath Heim at the white flag. He slid up and contact was made as they fought over the lead. Heim got up into the dirtier lanes and spun out, collecting some other trucks mid-pack.

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Riggs successfully took the lead, but only for a moment as fellow FRM driver Chandler Smith came out of nowhere, touching doors as he muscled by his teammate. Smith captured the victory while Riggs finished second.

“We fought and clawed today,” said Smith, who led just one lap after coming from the rear of the field. “Had to start in the back and I feel like at this place, tires kind of matter but they also kind of don’t. For us to come from the back says a lot about how good this Ford F-150 was. I didn’t think we were as good as the No. 11 [Heim], obviously. We had a tire advantage on him there and he was still able to start checking back out … Props to those guys. They had a really fast truck today.

“But that last restart, I did everything but the right thing. My teammate Layne Riggs executed perfectly and we came out on the right end of the stick. Happy we could bring one home for Front Row Motorsports.”

Heim and Riggs react to controversial finish

Heim marched down pit road to exchange words with Riggs, but it never escalated beyond that. Heim finished 17th.

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“Just why?” Heim told NASCAR on FOX. “More than anything, he tried to do it to the #7 [Carson Hocevar] last week for the win and mission accomplished for him this week, I guess. And it cost him one too, so I don’t know. We’ve given up so many of them this year after pretty much dominating most of this race. The #38 [Smith] was the only other guy (who) was rightfully good. Felt like he probably deserved to win, not the #34 [Riggs]. I got really loose into (Turn) 3. Just struggled being loose on the short runs, and he had an opportunity, and he wrecked me. Just disappointed.”

Riggs, who completed a 1-2 finish for FRM, offered no apologies after a brief discussion with both Heim and Heim’s crew chief, Scott Zipadelli.

“They’re displeased,” said Riggs. “But I feel like he got really loose in (Turns) 3 and 4, and kind of gave the bottom up. We were side-by-side on the frontstretch and I had a huge run. I went bottom and I didn’t fence him. I slid him up the track and gave him one lane there. We’re at North Wilkesboro on the last lap for a Truck win, so I feel like I didn’t do anything wrong there. It was hard racing all day. I feel like everybody came out of there alive and we had a good finish, and I only really care about me and my team.”

The final stage

With 100 laps to go, it was actually Grant Enfinger leading the way, but a bump from Smith allowed Heim to take control. From that point onward, it seemed like no one could touch him.

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However, with 40 laps to go, an issue for Tyler Tomassi triggered a caution flag. Heim decided against giving up track position, staying out while second-place runner Smith dove to pit road. Most of the lead lap trucks followed him in for fresh rubber.

Restarting fifth, Smith quickly charged forward, but still found it difficult to mount a real challenge against a dominant Heim. But after the race leader caught lapped traffic at a bad spot, Smith was able to get to his rear bumper. He did not hesitate to give him a shot, moving him up the track and pulling alongside. We didn’t get to see the outcome of this thrilling battle as Ben Rhodes spun Brent Crews around, causing a caution with just four laps to go.

This set up the dramatic overtime finish where Smith prevailed against Riggs and Heim. This is Smith’s second win of the year, becoming just the second Truck Series driver after Heim to earn multiple wins in 2025.

Behind Smith and Riggs, Tyler Ankrum finished third, Daniel Hemric fourth, and Grant Enfinger fifth. Ty Majeski, Gio Ruggiero, Kaden Honeycutt, Kyle Busch, and Sammy Smith filled out the remainder of the top ten.

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