Chandler Smith wins Black’s Tire 200 for third Truck Series victory
NXTbets Pro | Published On: October 31, 2026
Smith makes decisive move
Chandler Smith won the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Black’s Tire 200 at Martinsville Speedway, and he did it with a decisive move on the final restart. Smith got by Front Row Motorsports teammate Layne Riggs with 12 laps remaining, then held the lead to beat Ben Rhodes to the finish by 0.574 seconds. The victory was Smith’s third of the 2026 season and his 10th career Truck Series win in 111 starts. It also extended a strong year for Smith, who kept his control when the race tightened late and converted the last restart into the kind of finish that separates a fast truck from a winning one. At Martinsville, that closing move mattered more than the early control or the long stretches of pace. Smith found the spot he needed when the field lined up for one more run and turned a close battle into another trip to the front of the results sheet.
Riggs leads race
Riggs looked like the driver to beat for much of the night. He led a race-high 156 laps and swept both stages, putting together the most complete race on the scorecard until the final restart changed the order at the front. Even after losing the lead late, Riggs still finished third and stayed firmly in the championship fight. Behind him, Ty Majeski finished fourth and Tristan McKee was fifth, which gave Ford drivers the top four positions at the checkered flag. That kind of finish showed how strong the Ford group was across the race, even if the victory itself slipped away from Riggs in the closing laps. Smith’s pass with 12 laps to go ended Riggs’ bid for the win, but it did not erase how much of the race Riggs controlled. He led the most laps, swept the stages and remained near the front until the finish, which made his third-place result feel much closer than the final order suggests. Martinsville rewarded clean execution through the middle of the race, and Riggs delivered plenty of that before the final restart reset the fight.
Title race tightens
The penultimate race of the season also added more pressure to the championship picture. The Black’s Tire 200 featured nine caution periods for 67 laps and two red flags, a stop-and-start race that kept the field bunched and gave teams little room to settle in for long runs. One of the red flags came around lap 117, when crews cleaned fluid from Turns 3 and 4 before the race resumed. The race also had title implications for Kaden Honeycutt, who finished 14th after late-race contact. That result trimmed his points lead over Riggs to 20 points, and only Honeycutt and Riggs remain mathematically eligible for the championship heading into Friday’s finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Smith’s win settled the race itself, but the title picture stayed alive because of where Honeycutt and Riggs finished. Honeycutt still leads the standings, while Riggs left Martinsville with a better chance to close the gap in the final race. The finale now has a clear two-driver focus, with the championship set to be decided at Homestead-Miami Speedway after Martinsville narrowed the field to just two contenders.
