Chandler Smith dominated the UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway and seemed like he was on his way to clinching a spot in the Championship 4 — but instead he finished ninth.
Smith won the first two stages of the Camping World Truck Series Round of 8 opener, leading 89 straight laps in the process. He passed polesitter Derek Kraus on lap 28 and looked like he was going to cruise off into the sunset … or rather the championship race at Phoenix Raceway.
But instead strategy got the best of Smith. As he pitted for fuel and tires during the stage 2 break, 14 other trucks who had previously pitted stayed out, each with enough fuel to make it to the end. Smith could only get back up to ninth place.
“Us, as a group, we were just a little too tight coming back through the field,” Smith said. “I felt like if we were a little freer, we would’ve had something for them. But I mean, we ran so many caution laps as well, like we probably would’ve ran out of time no matter what.”
Instead, the win slipped away to playoff rival Ty Majeski. Still, Smith scored the most points on the day, with 48 points thanks to the stage win. The result leaves him leading the playoff standings with a 24-point advantage over Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate John Hunter Nemechek.
“I guess it’s an OK day, right?” Smith said. “I don’t know how much stage points really matter. Every little bit counts, especially if it comes down to two drivers win these next two races and they’re playoff drivers. It’s always good so we can point our way in … But obviously we want to go to Talladega [Superspeedway] or Miami [Homestead-Miami Speedway] and win it so we don’t have to worry about it.
“… It always helps, but it would’ve helped if we were in victory lane more.”
Instead of having his Championship 4 locked up, Smith has to fret about points the next two races. It’s a missed opportunity, as Smith is especially strong on short tracks. Three of his five Truck Series wins have come on tracks one mile and under in size. In contrast, Talladega is the next race, and Smith only has one career top five in four superspeedways starts.
“We had this one circled for us to possibly win,” Smith said. “I felt like we had a dominant truck. … Once we went stage racing and them guys played track position at the very end and the [Nos.] 66 and the 38 were able to get up front. Me and the 52 were the only people who passed all night. I don’t know how to fix that. It…
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