In the final laps of Saturday’s Window World 250 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, Chandler Smith was chasing down Corey Heim, the dominant driver of the race, on tires that were 60 laps fresher.
Those fresh tires would ultimately prevail for the driver of the No. 38 Ford F-150, giving Chandler Smith his seventh win in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and his second of the season.
“We fought and clawed today,” said Chandler Smith after the race. “Had to start in the back, and I feel like this place, tires kind of matter, but I feel like they also kind of didn’t, so for us to come from the back to mid-pack twice says a lot about how good this Ford F-150 was today.”
Granted, things didn’t necessarily play out as simply as they may sound.
Smith ended up with a pretty major assist from his Front Row Motorsports teammate Layne Riggs, who sprang into contention after an impeccable restart in NASCAR Overtime, which allowed him to challenge Corey Heim.
While attempting to get clear of Heim for the lead, and the victory, Riggs drove his No. 34 Ford F-150 deep into the first corner, and while his “slidejob” just about worked, the Bahama, North Carolina-native ended up pushing Heim up the track.
That move allowed Smith, who was running in third place, to sneak to the inside, getting by the spinning Corey Heim, and his teammate Layne Riggs to take the lead and drive to the victory.
RACE RESULTS: 2025 NCTS Window World 250 at North Wilkesboro
While spinning in front of the pack at the exit of the second corner, Heim collected Rajah Caruth, forcing NASCAR to throw the caution and thus end the Window World 200.
“I didn’t think we were as good as [Corey Heim],” said Smith. “Obviously, we had a tire advantage on him there, and he was still able to start checking back out, then we got to him, nudged him out of the way, and the caution came out.”
Layne Riggs, despite the stumble on the final lap, was credited with a second-place finish, while McAnally-Hilgemann Racing teammates Tyler Ankrum and Daniel Hemric were given third and fourth.
Grant Enfinger, who led laps early in the race on a strategy call, rounded out the top five.
Ty Majeski rebounded from an afternoon where the No. 98 wasn’t in contention for even a top-10 at points, to finish in sixth, with rookie driver Gio Ruggiero bringing home another top-10 in seventh.
Kaden Honeycutt was eighth, with Spire Motorsports teammates Kyle Busch and Sammy Smith recording ninth and tenth-place results on the afternoon.
Corey Heim, after leading a race-high 162 of 250 laps, was relegated to a 17th-place finish after spinning on the final lap of the event.
Leaving North Wilkesboro, Heim continues to hold a 47-point lead in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series point standings over Chandler Smith. The series will now head to Charlotte Motor Speedway next Friday, May 24.
