Chandler Smith endured a thrilling battle with Zane Smith and held off team owner and boss Kyle Busch to win the Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Friday night, leading a 1-2 finish for Kyle Busch Motorsports. The win was Smith’s third career win in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and his first on a track over a mile in length.
The 19-year-old Georgia native was able to get around Busch on the final restart with three laps to go, then pulled side-by-side with Zane Smith at the white flag, completing a crossover pass on the backstretch that sealed the victory.
“When you guys tune into me halfway through the race, ‘how did he get up there?”’ Chandler Smith said motioning toward the sky. “It’s the good Lord man, he performs miracles all day. He’s given me this talent, this opportunity to drive this truck for Kyle Busch Motorsports and for [sponsor] Safelite.
“I’m just beyond thankful for this whole opportunity. All the glory goes to him, my guys, my wife, all the guys part of this deal. I’m just super thankful right now.”
Kyle Busch Motorsports was clearly the team to beat over the course of the evening. All three of the team’s drivers (Smith, Kyle Busch and John Hunter Nemechek) combined to lead 86 of the 134 laps. Their closest competitors were a pair of ThorSport Racing drivers, Christian Eckes and defending series champion Ben Rhodes.
Zane Smith, winner of the season opener at Daytona, crossed the line in second, but was disqualified in post-race tech inspection due to a lug nut violation.
“Regardless, I had a lot of fun right there,’’ Zane Smith said, noting the damage on his truck from an early-race incident. “That was some hard, good racing. I can’t believe I’m up here with all that damage. Just wait until this thing is clean.”
Kyle Busch, a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and Las Vegas native, finished second while watching his driver take the victory. Fellow Toyota driver Stewart Friesen finished third, while the Fords of Ryan Preece and former NHRA drag racing champion Tanner Gray finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Defending series champion Ben Rhodes won the first two stages thanks to some well-timed cautions, but unfortunately ended the night with his Ford F-150 on the back of a tow truck after crashing with 30 laps to go due to contact from teammate Ty Majeski.
“I can’t speak to what happened with my teammate there, I’m just going to try to stay positive,” said Rhodes, who was credited with a 32nd-place finish. “Can’t imagine my teammate trying to wreck me. Just a bummer.”
Rhodes’s other teammate Christian Eckes didn’t fare much better. Eckes crashed from the lead with eight laps to go after a failed block on Kyle Busch down the backstretch.
The sentimental favorite on the night was undoubtedly Todd Bodine, a two-time NASCAR Truck Series champion making his first series start since Aug. 2013. The 58-year-old Bodine wound up 22nd after an eventful evening that saw him garner two speeding penalties and survive a pair of on-track spins.
After two races, Chandler Smith has become the new points leader, holding a five-point advantage over Tanner Gray. Zane Smith drops eleven spots down to 12th because of his Vegas disqualification.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series now takes a week off before returning to race at the newly-reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sat. March 19.