Sammy Smith Wins First Truck Race at Talladega in Overtime

Sammy Smith won his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on Friday, October 23, 2026, taking the Love's RV Stop 225 at Talladega Superspeedway by leading the final lap of NASCAR Overtime. Smith, driving the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, finished 0.091 seconds ahead of Tyler Ankrum in the No. 18 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet.

The win came in Smith's 11th Truck Series start, and he led the most laps of anyone in the field, 21 of the 86 laps run. Hours before the race, Smith had announced that he will compete full time in the Truck Series next year. He currently races full time in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series for JR Motorsports. Smith is 22 years old and from Iowa.

A close finish at the front

Ankrum took second place by the smallest of margins. He beat Austin Green to the line by 0.002 seconds, a gap that needed the scoring loop to separate. Ty Majeski finished fourth and championship leader Kaden Honeycutt finished fifth in the unofficial results. The field had 36 trucks.

After the race, Smith credited the people around the No. 7 truck. "Just a great team, [crew chief] Brian Pattie and this whole Spire crew," he said, via NASCAR. "The truck was fast and I feel like we did a good job putting ourselves in a good spot." Asked what the win tells people, he said: "That I am a winner, and I know I can win, and I got another shot tomorrow [in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series] with my [No. 8] boys."

Crashes shaped the afternoon

The race had five caution periods and two large multi-truck crashes, which is common at Talladega, where trucks run in tight packs at high speed. An early crash on Lap 17 collected eight trucks, among them Tony Stewart and Cleetus McFarland. The pack racing meant track position changed constantly, and leading the final lap, rather than any earlier one, was what decided the result.

Stage winners were Gio Ruggiero, who won Stage 1, and Tanner Gray, who won Stage 2. Neither converted the stage win into the race win once the late cautions and the overtime restart shuffled the running order.

What it means for the championship

Honeycutt's fifth place kept him on top of the championship standings. He leads Layne Riggs, who finished eighth, by 43 points with two races remaining. Majeski is third, 141 points behind Honeycutt, a gap that leaves him needing help in the final two rounds.

Five drivers were eliminated from championship contention after this race, according to the points NASCAR reported in its recap: Gio Ruggiero, Daniel Hemric, Ben Rhodes, Tyler Ankrum and Grant Enfinger. Ankrum's elimination came on the same afternoon he finished second, which shows how tight the cutoff was.

The Truck Series moves on to Martinsville Speedway on Friday, October 30, 2026, for the next race. Smith, meanwhile, goes back to his regular ride with a first Truck Series trophy and a full-time Truck Series seat already announced for next season.