Chandler Smith trending in right direction in NASCAR Truck Series title fight

Chandler Smith isn't sure if he's being overlooked as a championship contender in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, but it's clear the 24-year-old driver from Talking Rock, Ga., is capable of winning on any given week. 

That was evidenced by Smith leading 105 of 250 laps in Saturday's Truck Series race at North Wilkesboro and winning by over 8.2 seconds, the largest margin of victory ever in a Truck Series short track race. 

Smith is third in the series standings with three races left in the Truck Series regular season and in a prime position to challenge his Front Row Motorsports teammate in Layne Riggs and Kaden Honeycutt for the title this fall.

Is Chandler Smith a title threat?

"I personally feel like we're a championship-caliber team," Smith said in his post-race news conference. "We went through a rut. Charlotte [30th-place finish] was induced by me. Went to Nashville, was extremely good, went to Michigan, was pretty good, then had two back-to-back races at San Diego and Lime Rock where we finished [22nd and 30th].

"Points kind of don't tell the full story, but truthfully, this 38 team's been strong. The only race I can even think back on this year that we haven't been lights out was Dover. The 38 team's been firing on all eight cylinders, it's just a matter of if it's going to be a good day or not."

Smith is only in his second season as the driver of a No. 38 truck that is a part of team that was essentially thrown together at the last minute prior to the 2025 season. That's a much different situation than that of Riggs' No. 34 group, which has been together for three seasons, and Honeycutt's No. 11 team at TRICON Garage, which won the 2025 championship with Corey Heim. 

"This is year two of our team being together," Smith said. "Our growth and our progression from last year to this year is definitely reflected. Our race trucks are better than last year. Our pit crew's been doing a little bit better. We're trending in the right direction.

"The 11 team's been around since Corey went to TRICON [in 2023]. Look how long it took for them to get as dominant as they were last year. It takes time to build championship-caliber teams to where it's in and out."