Facing a must-win situation to advance in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series playoffs, Chandler Smith won Thursday night’s Round of 10 elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Smith took the lead from Sheldon Creed off a restart with five laps to go, then held off an attack from Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate John Hunter Nemechek before going on to win.
Grant Enfinger managed to pass Nemechek for second in the final laps. Stewart Friesen finished fourth. Johnny Sauter completed the top five.
Chandler Smith, Matt Crafton, Friesen, Carson Hocevar, Ben Rhodes and Zane Smith all advanced to the Round of 8. They join Creed and Nemechek, who had advanced prior to Bristol.
Todd Gilliland and Austin Hill were the two drivers eliminated from the playoffs. Gilliland missed the final spot to advance by two points.
This story will be updated…
STAGE 1 WINNER: Sheldon Creed
STAGE 2 WINNER: Sheldon Creed
WHO HAD A GOOD RACE: Chandler Smith entered the night last in the 10-driver playoff field at 12 points behind the cutline to advance, but came through in the clutch for his first career Truck win … Hocevar did not pit during the Stage 2 break, but finished sixth to make that call stand up and move on in the post-season.
WHO HAD A BAD RACE: Austin Hill’s shot at a championship ended when contact with Josh Berry sent him hard into the inside front stretch wall with 12 laps to go. The impact sent Hill up Turn 1 and into the truck of Hailie Deegan, with the ensuing melee collecting several others. Hill was above the cutline to advance prior to a restart with 14 laps to go.
NEXT RACE: The Round of 8 opens at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday, Sept. 24 (9 p.m. ET, FS1).
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Chandler Smith wins Truck playoff race at Bristol originally appeared on NBCSports.com