Sammy Smith Slips and Slides to Victory at Talladega!
LINCOLN, A.L. - Sammy Smith won a wacky, wild Love's RV Stop 225 on Friday, October 23, taking his first career Craftsman Truck Series win in his 11th series start. Smith lost the lead twice on the final lap, but somehow powered through to victory in the closing yards.
It was a headlining day for Smith, as earlier in the day it was announced that the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series young veteran would be making the move from JR Motorsports to TRICON Garage for 2027, as both he and Dawson Sutton announced.
Smith started the race on the front row for Spire Motorsports, as he started 2nd. Smith only scored a best finish of 9th in the stages, but was a contender in the mix along with teammate Austin Green, as both trucks had strong pace.
The win did not come easy for Smith, though, as he had to dodge multiple crashes along the way. On lap 17, the big one saw Smith just sneak by, as multiple fan favorites got collected in a multi-car crash after Stewart Friesen blew a tire, causing a big stack-up in the wreck.
As for the fan favorites in the crash, the incident saw Cleetus McFarland and Tony Stewart have their days end early. As for the other trucks involved, Kris Wright had a brutal hit, but he was thankfully okay. Cole Butcher, Daniel Hemric, Andres Perez, Corey Lajoie, and Thomas Annunziata all got involved. Of the group, Annunziata was the only one whose day extended with an opportunity.
As for the stages, Gio Guggiero won stage one after it was shortened for the lap 17 caution. As for stage two, it went to Tanner Gray, who currently is looking for a ride in 2027, as the TRICON announcement also revealed that he would not return to the team next season.
Outside of the race for the championship, the tire issues remained the big issue for the day as over a dozen drivers had issues.
As the laps closed down, it became clear that it would be a tight race between Layne Riggs and Kaden Honeycutt yet again.
On lap 79, Thomas Annunziata got turned by Honeycutt, ending his day early and setting up an overtime finish.
On the restart, Layne Riggs made a bold decision to restart in front of Honeycutt, but made a grave mistake on the final lap, as Honeycutt was able to force himself to the inside of Riggs, causing him to get shuffled out of line with no help.
Luckily for Riggs, there were multiple crashes behind him on the white flag as he finished 9th, but the bad news is Kaden Honeycutt found himself in the mix for the win.
Going into turn three of the last lap, Honeycutt dove low on Ty Majeski, taking the lead away. But coming off of turn four, he had no help, as Sammy Smith was able to switch lanes, find momentum, and shoot around to steal the win!
Honeycutt crossed the line 5th, but opened his points lead to 43 points over Layne Riggs heading into Martinsville. Without issues for Honeycutt, it is now a practical must-win for Riggs the next two weekends.
OTHER NOTES:
Multiple drivers had season best days in the race. Brenden Queen represented Kaulig Racing and Ram, matching his season best finish of 7th. Spencer Boyd recorded his first top ten in two seasons, as he finished 9th.
Outside the top ten, Frankie Muniz scored 12th, Jason White 13th, Clay Greenfield 15th, Timmy Hill 16th, and Cory Roper 18th. A good day for the feel-good stories in the field.
UP NEXT:
The Craftsman Truck Series heads to Martinsville Speedway for its pentultimate race of the season. The race will happen under the lights, as it is slated for a 6:00 P.M. ET start time. Coverage of the race can be found on FS1.
Motorsports Today will also have on-site coverage at Martinsville as Tim Moore will be present for the final three race weekends of the 2026 season. You can keep up with us on all of our social media on X, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and here at MotorsportsToday.net!
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