Chandler Smith captured his second win of the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season in dramatic fashion on Saturday afternoon at North Wilkesboro Speedway. The Front Row Motorsports driver snuck through a last-lap incident between Corey Heim and Layne Riggs to win the Window World 250 — a race he never led until the final corner.
The victory marked Smith’s seventh career Truck Series triumph and his first at the historic 0.625-mile short track. What made the win even more improbable was the fact that Smith started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to fix a brake issue before the green flag.
Late-Race Drama Changes Everything
The story of the day had been Corey Heim’s domination. Piloting the No. 11 Toyota, Heim led a staggering 162 of 255 laps, including through most of the final stretch. But the overtime restart on Lap 254 set the stage for heartbreak.
Heim, working with tires 68 laps older than Smith’s, managed to clear both Smith and Layne Riggs on the restart. However, Riggs wasn’t done yet. Charging hard into Turns 3 and 4 on the white-flag lap, Riggs dove to the inside of Heim. Contact followed. Heim’s truck was sent up the track, sideways and out of contention. Smith darted past the wreckage and held off Riggs to take the checkered flag, winning by 0.611 seconds.
Ironically, Smith led only one lap all afternoon — the one that mattered.
“I didn’t think we were as good as the 11,” Smith admitted post-race. “Obviously we had a tire advantage on him there. That last restart, I did everything but the right thing. My teammate Layne Riggs executed perfectly, and we came out on the right end of the stick.”
Riggs vs. Heim: A Brewing Rivalry
What Smith called “perfect execution,” Heim called a cheap shot. Tensions between Heim and Riggs had been simmering all race long. During a Lap 81 restart following the Stage 1 break, Riggs had run Heim high toward the outside wall, helping Grant Enfinger claim Stage 2. The overtime bump was the boiling point.
“He tried to do it to the 7 (Carson Hocevar) last week for the win,” Heim said after the race. “Mission accomplished for him, I guess, this week. And it cost him one, too. We’ve given up so many races this year after dominating. The 38 (Smith) was the only other guy rightfully good. He deserved to win over anyone else, not the 34 (Riggs).”
Riggs saw things differently.
“I feel like he got really loose into 3 and 4 and kind of gave the bottom up,” Riggs explained. “I had a huge run. I went bottom, and I didn’t fence him. I slid him up the track and gave him one lane. It’s North Wilkesboro on the last lap for a Truck win. I feel like I didn’t do anything wrong there.”
Full Race Results from North Wilkesboro
Chandler Smith may have claimed the win, but there were plenty of strong performances across the field in Race 10 of the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule:
| No. | Fin | Truck | Driver |
| 1 | 1 | 38 | Chandler Smith |
| 2 | 2 | 34 | Layne Riggs |
| 3 | 3 | 18 | Tyler Ankrum |
| 4 | 4 | 19 | Daniel Hemric |
| 5 | 5 | 9 | Grant Enfinger |
| 6 | 6 | 98 | Ty Majeski |
| 7 | 7 | 17 | Gio Ruggiero |
| 8 | 8 | 45 | Kaden Honeycutt |
| 9 | 9 | 7 | Kyle Busch |
| 10 | 10 | 7 | Sammy Smith |
| 11 | 11 | 15 | Tanner Gray |
| 12 | 12 | 13 | Jake Garcia |
| 13 | 13 | 66 | Luke Baldwin |
| 14 | 14 | 52 | Stewart Friesen |
| 15 | 15 | 71 | Rajah Caruth |
| 16 | 16 | 81 | Connor Mosack |
| 17 | 17 | 11 | Corey Heim |
| 18 | 18 | 88 | Matt Crafton |
| 19 | 19 | 75 | Patrick Emerling |
| 20 | 20 | 91 | Jack Wood |
| 21 | 21 | 5 | Toni Breidinger |
| 22 | 22 | 1 | Brent Crews |
| 23 | 23 | 99 | Ben Rhodes |
| 24 | 24 | 77 | Andres Perez de Lara # |
| 25 | 25 | 42 | Matt Mills |
| 26 | 26 | 26 | Dawson Sutton |
| 27 | 27 | 44 | Conner Jones |
| 28 | 28 | 76 | Spencer Boyd |
| 29 | 29 | 33 | Frankie Muniz |
| 30 | 30 | 2 | Jayson Alexander |
| 31 | 31 | 22 | Tyler Tomassi |
| 32 | 32 | 67 | Ryan Roulette |
| 33 | 33 | 2 | Derek White |
| 34 | 34 | 6 | Norm Benning |
Notably, defending series champion Ty Majeski rebounded for a sixth-place finish. Gio Ruggiero was the highest-finishing rookie in seventh. Kyle Busch and Sammy Smith both landed top-10s despite mid-race pit road issues — Busch in particular was hampered by two speeding penalties.
Corey Heim, after leading the most laps and sweeping Stage 1, limped home 17th. He still leaves North Wilkesboro with the championship points lead, 47 points ahead of Smith.
News in Brief: 2025 North Wilkesboro Truck race results
Saturday’s Window World 250 served as a perfect reminder that in NASCAR, the only lap that truly matters is the last one. Chandler Smith’s comeback from the rear of the field to the front, combined with strategic pit calls and a little help from teammate Layne Riggs, delivered a dramatic short-track finish.
While Smith and Riggs celebrated, Corey Heim was left to process another lost opportunity. The growing tension between Riggs and Heim could make future races even more unpredictable — especially with 15 races left on the schedule.
The Truck Series heads next to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 on Friday night. If the racing is anything like North Wilkesboro, fans are in for another barnburner.
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