NASCAR Truck Series driver Chandler Smith (38) passes John Hunter Nemechek (62), Giovanni Ruggiero (17) and Christian Eckes (91) to the checkered flag of the Fresh from Florida 250 at Daytona International Speedway. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Chandler Smith wins NASCAR Truck Series race at Daytona in four-wide photo finish

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Feb 13, 2026 10:25 PM ET

In a wild overtime finish to kick off the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season, Chandler Smith beat Gio Ruggiero, Christian Eckes, Ty Majeski and John Hunter Nemechek in a four-wide photo finish to win Friday's Fresh From Florida 250 at Daytona International Speedway.

The 23-year-old from Talking Rock, Ga., was in sixth entering turn 3 on the final lap, but found a hole on the bottom lane in the final hundred feet to sneak away with the win. The victory comes 24 hours after Smith failed to make the Daytona 500 with Front Row Motorsports.

"I was surprised the 62 didn't block it," Smith told Fox Sports. "The seas literally just parted. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Ty Majeski."

The win is Smith's first at Daytona and the eighth of his Truck Series career.

A FOUR-WIDE FINISH AT DAYTONA. Let's take another look. pic.twitter.com/eEprV3VR1f
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 14, 2026

Friday's race set a new record with 32 lead changes, the most ever in a Truck Series race at Daytona.

Notable results

Ruggiero, Eckes, Majeski and Nemechek rounded out the top five, with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Brenden Queen, Kaden Honeycutt, Tyler Ankrum and Stewart Friesen completing the top 10.

"It was tight there at the end of the race," Ruggiero said. "Everybody's just trying to do whatever it takes to win. I think as group we kneed to do better as Toyotas."

"Pretty frustrated with myself," Nemechek said. " Just hard to cover all the lanes there."

Other notable finishers include Ben Rhodes in 12th, Travis Pastrana in 15th, Justin Haley in 22nd, Michael McDowell in 24th and Layne Riggs in 31st.

Carson Hocevar finished 35th after spinning three times and having his truck shut off multiple times. Hocevar and his Spire Motorsports teammate in McDowell led a total of 40 laps, with both drivers leading 20 laps each. Haley also led 20 laps, with those three drivers being tied for the most laps led on the evening.

Tony Stewart and Travis Pastrana finished 36th and 37th, respectively, after early crashes.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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