Sammy Smith Plays Truck Series Spoiler at Talladega

Sammy Smith won the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway on Friday, picking up the first win of his Truck career. Smith crossed the line ahead of a four-wide battle for second, beating Tyler Ankrum, Austin Green, Ty Majeski, and Kaden Honeycutt.

The race ended on an overtime restart, staying green despite a multi-truck crash on the last lap. Majeski led for most of the final circuit, with Smith capitalizing on a push from Tyler Ankrum to make the race-winning pass on the front straightaway.

The timing of Smith’s first career Truck Series win coincides poetically with the day’s announcement that he’ll move to Tricon Garage in 2027. Smith has never competed in more than four Truck races in one season, but now he gets to start his rookie year with a win already under his belt.

The first stage of the race ended under caution with Gio Ruggiero picking up the win. He beat Tricon Garage teammate Kaden Honeycutt and Spire Motorsports’ Austin Green. Stage 2 went to Tanner Gray with Front Row Motorsports’ Layne Riggs in second and ThorSport Racing’s Ben Rhodes in third.

Spire Motorsports now has three wins in the 2026 Craftsman Truck Series season with their No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado RST. The other two came from the late Kyle Busch at EchoPark Speedway and Dover Motor Speedway.

The Big One

Big trouble to end Stage 1 for the @NASCAR_Trucks at Talladega. https://t.co/cbjgrqGMID

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) October 23, 2026

The infamous ‘big one’ struck on Lap 16 of Friday’s race, eliminating seven drivers. Two of the event’s highest-profile racers – Cleetus McFarland and Tony Stewart – were among those who sustained irreparable damage. Also taken out was Andrés Pérez de Lara, Kris Wright, Corey LaJoie, Stewart Friesen, and Daniel Hemric.

The wreck appeared to start when Stewart Friesen had a tire go down in the middle groove in front of Andrés Pérez de Lara. Friesen turned, and his nose clipped Kris Wright’s tail on the bottom sending Wright hard into the outside wall in Turn 2.

Wright’s truck made a heavy impact with that of Corey LaJoie in the outside lane and more trucks piled in behind them. Cleetus McFarland nearly avoided the wreck entirely, but skidded into the inside wall to total his Niece Motorsports Chevrolet. Tony Stewart reported that the wind was knocked out of him, but that he was no worse for the wear.

“I thought I was good and then I got tapped in the back-left as I was coming down the track,” McFarland said. “Probably my fault. I just went over and crunched the nose of my truck.” McFarland placed 36th in his third career Truck Series start.

“Just saw Stewart Friesen in the middle had an issue,” Stewart said. “There was two trucks in front of us that got into the wall on the outside and I started down the hill to get past those guys and didn’t see the cars coming from the left. It’s just a racing deal, that’s part of it at restrictor plate races.”

The Field Thins Further

Tricon Garage’s Thomas Annunziata, fresh off an ARCA Menards Series championship, led the first lap of his NASCAR national series career on Friday. Unfortunately, it immediately preceded a vicious race-ending crash. Annunziata was turned sideways from a push by teammate Kaden Honeycutt, sending him head-on into the outside wall. Just when things seemed to calm down, Annunziata was pile-driven by Grant Enfinger, launching his No. 5 Toyota spinning into the air.

Jake Garcia suffered his own heavy hit on Lap 58, slamming both the inside and outside walls. The incident also involved Chase driver Chandler Smithl, who was fortunately able to recover to finish 14th.

A common theme over the course of the race was tire issues. Over and over again trucks experienced flat tires, some of them multiple times over the course of the race. It wasn’t immediately clear what led to the issues, but Tyler Ankrum remarked after the race that he suspected debris played a part.

Chase Outlook

Talladega often represents the last major points shakeup of the NASCAR season, as well as a final opportunity for long-shots to enter championship contention. For points leader Kaden Honeycutt, the objective was simply to maintain his points lead. With a top-five finish and strong stage point haul, Honeycutt’s lead expanded from 39 to 43.

Points runner-up Layne Riggs could’ve sliced a major portion of Honeycutt’s lead down with a win on Friday. By finishing eighth, he instead lost ground during one of his best opportunities for a rebound. Riggs enters the final two races of the season forced to outperform Honeycutt soundly and consistently if he hopes to win the 2026 championship.

Elsewhere in the Chase field, Ty Majeski moved up two places in the standings with his fourth-place finish. He’s now third, but 141 points behind Honeycutt with only two races remaining. Along with fourth-ranked Chandler Smith (-142) and fifth-ranked Christian Eckes (-144), the chances to mount an upset title bid are wearing thin with each passing race.

Race Results