On the final lap of Friday’s Fresh From Florida 250 at Daytona International Speedway, Chandler Smith was sitting in fifth-place… it would have been a good points day, a great points day even, considering he won the race’s second stage, but in the blink of an eye, everything changed.
As John Hunter Nemechek, Gio Ruggiero, and Christian Eckes exchanged blows coming to the start-finish line, all three pushed high in the tri-oval, allowing the TrophyCatch Ford F-150 to sneak to the inside and get across the line first, capturing the victory.
What a finish! Chandler Smith wins the NASCAR Truck Series race at Daytona! pic.twitter.com/s5qy9td9v1
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 14, 2026
It’s the third victory for Front Row Motorsports at Daytona International Speedway — tied for the most all-time with Bobby Hamilton Racing, ThorSport Racing, and GMS Racing.
“First off, I want to shout out all glory to God. Without him, none of this would be possible, and I am super, super grateful that I serve such a loving God that blessed me with such a good group of men and women around me at Front Row Motorsports,” Smith said post-race. “Ty Majeski, one of my best Ford teammates I’ve ever worked with. He is all credit for how we won that race, truthfully. He stayed committed to a Ford and pushed a blue oval to a win.”
RELATED: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Fresh From Florida 250 Race Results
With a heroic shove from 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Ty Majeski, now driving the bright-yellow Menards No. 88 Ford F-150, Smith was able to get such a large run, as the leaders were unable to get organized and decide who was going to win the event.
The triumph on Friday marks the eighth victory in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Smith, and his third under the Front Row Motorsports banner. Even better, the win makes up for the devastating loss suffered by the Talking Rock, Georgia-native on Thursday, after a late-race crash in the America 250 Florida Duels at Daytona cost him a shot at qualifying for the DAYTONA 500.
Gio Ruggiero, for the second year in a row, will finish in the runner-up position in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season-opener at Daytona, meaning that in three starts on traditional superspeedways, the Seekonk, Massachusetts-native has never finished worse than second.
Christian Eckes made his return to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing count, finishing third in the No. 91 Columbia Bank Chevrolet Silverado RST.
Ty Majeski had to settle for fourth, despite making the winning push to get Chandler Smith across the finish line first. John Hunter Nemechek, although he led the field off of the final corner, faded back to fifth by the time the field screamed down to the start-finish line.
Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. finished sixth in his debut in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, while Brenden Queen, in seventh, earned a top-10 in RAM’s return to the series after more than a decade.
Kaden Honeycutt, Tyler Ankrum, and Stewart Friesen rounded out the top-10.
Spire Motorsports brought a pair of strong vehicles for NASCAR Cup Series regulars Carson Hocevar and Michael McDowell, who looked to be the class of the field all night, each leading a race-high 20 laps on the evening, along with Kaulig’s Justin Haley.
Both drivers would eventually have problems that took them out of contention for the victory, with Carson Hocevar having two flat tires on his No. 77, and spinning out a third time before calling it a night. Michael McDowell was in contention for the victory, but coming to the white flag spun off Turn 4, and fell victim to NASCAR deciding to let the leaders race back to the start-finish line.
Incredibly enough, despite the typical carnage of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series on superspeedways, only four drivers failed to finish Friday’s event — three due to on-track incidents and one due to a mechanical issue.
Cleetus McFarland and Tony Stewart, who were two of the biggest stories in the field coming in Friday’s event, were involved in two separate incidents that ended their nights early.
McFarland’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut only lasted six laps, when the driver of the No. 4 Chevrolet Silverado RST snapped loose on the exit of Turn 4, overcorrecting and spinning down the racetrack to slam the inside wall.
Tony Stewart fell victim to the same thing, but got caught up in somebody else’s mess, when Jake Garcia snapped loose and slid up the racetrack, pinning the Kaulig Racing No. 25 RAM 1500 against the outside wall.
What a finish! Chandler Smith wins the NASCAR Truck Series race at Daytona! pic.twitter.com/s5qy9td9v1
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 14, 2026
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series isn’t done with the pack racing yet, as drivers and teams head to EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Georgia, for the second event of the season, next Saturday, February 21. Coverage of the event will be on FOX Sports 1, NASCAR Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
