Last-Lap Drama Delivers Chandler Smith Victory in Window World 250 at North Wilkesboro

One lap. That’s all Chandler Smith needed to lead the Window World 250 at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Saturday, thanks to a controversial last-lap incident between his Front Row Motorsports teammate Layne Riggs and race dominator Corey Heim.

Smith captured his second NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series victory of the 2025 season and his first at the historic 0.625-mile short track after a chaotic overtime finish that saw Heim’s dominant day end in frustration and a brewing rivalry between two young competitors.

“I feel like this place… tires kind of mattered but they also kind of didn’t,” said Smith, who started from the rear of the field after unapproved adjustments to fix a brake issue in his No. 38 Ford. “I didn’t think we were as good as the No. 11—obviously we had a tire advantage on him there.”

The pivotal moment came during the overtime restart on lap 254. Heim, who had led an impressive 162 of the race’s 255 laps, maintained the lead despite riding on tires that were 68 laps older than Smith’s. The Toyota driver quickly cleared Smith on his inside and Riggs behind him as the white flag waved.

However, Riggs mounted a strong run through Turns 3 and 4 on the white-flag lap and steered to Heim’s inside. As the two trucks battled side-by-side down the frontstretch, Riggs’ Ford slid up into Heim’s No. 11 Toyota in Turn 2, sending Heim sideways.

Smith, running third, seized the opportunity to claim the lead and headed for the finish line with Riggs in his wake. Smith’s margin of victory over his teammate was 0.611 seconds.

“That last restart, I did everything but the right thing,” Smith admitted. “My teammate, Layne Riggs, executed perfectly, and we came out on the right end of the stick.”

Heim, who finished a disappointing 17th after dominating most of the race, clearly took exception to what he viewed as aggressive driving from Riggs. The incident marked the second flashpoint between the two drivers, following an earlier confrontation on a lap 81 restart after the first stage break when Riggs ran Heim up toward the outside wall, handing the lead and ultimately the Stage 2 win to Grant Enfinger.

After the race, Heim briefly expressed his displeasure to Riggs on pit road.

“He tried to do it to the No. 7 (Carson Hocevar) last week for the win, and mission accomplished for him, I guess, this week,” Heim said. “And it cost him one, too. I don’t know. We’ve given up so many of them this year, after dominating the race.”

Heim added, “The No. 38 (Smith) was the only other guy that was rightfully good. I felt like he deserved to win over anyone else, not the No. 34 (Riggs). I got really loose into [Turn] 3. Just struggled being loose on the short runs, and he had an opportunity to wreck me. Just disappointed.”

Riggs, meanwhile, defended his driving style and offered a different perspective on the final-lap incident.

“I feel like he got really loose into [Turns] 3 and 4 and kind of gave the bottom up, and we’re side by side on the frontstretch,” Riggs explained. “I had a huge run, and I went bottom. I didn’t fence him. I slid him up the track and gave him one lane there.”

The rookie driver added, “It’s North Wilkesboro on the last lap for a truck win. I feel like I didn’t really do anything wrong there.”

Behind the Front Row Motorsports teammates, Tyler Ankrum finished third, followed by Daniel Hemric and Grant Enfinger rounding out the top five. Defending series champion Ty Majeski came home sixth, with Giovanni Ruggiero, Kaden Honeycutt, Kyle Busch, and Sammy Smith completing the top 10.

Busch, making just his second Truck Series start of the season, saw his efforts hampered by a pair of pit road speeding penalties that prevented him from contending for the win despite showing competitive speed throughout the event.

Despite the disappointing finish, Heim maintained his position atop the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series standings. He now holds a 47-point advantage over race winner Chandler Smith as the series heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway for next Friday’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200.

For Smith, the victory further cements his position as a championship contender and adds another accomplishment to his growing resume in NASCAR’s national series. The win marks his seventh career Truck Series victory and continues Front Row Motorsports’ strong 2025 campaign.

As the dust settles on an exciting and controversial finish at North Wilkesboro, all eyes will be on how the budding rivalry between Heim and Riggs develops at Charlotte and beyond. If Saturday’s race was any indication, NASCAR fans can expect more fireworks when these competitors meet on track again.

Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images