Rookie bangs past Truck Series champ, into Round of 8

If the next NASCAR Truck Series playoff race is as exciting as the last one, fans at Las Vegas Motor Speedway are in for a treat Friday night.

Rookie Chandler Smith banged past reigning series champion Sheldon Creed on a late restart and then held off charges from Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate John Hunter Nemechek and Grant Enfinger to win the opening playoff round finale at Bristol Motor Speedway Sept. 16.

With the victory, Smith clinched a spot in the Round of 8 that begins with the Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 presented by Westgate Resorts at LVMS. Enfinger, who got by Nemechek for second place at Bristol, finished .422 behind the 19-year-old Smith.

Creed won the first two 2021 playoff races and appeared headed for a sweep of the initial round before slowing and spinning with a cut rear tire after colliding with Smith. He settled for 19th place.

“I’m speechless right now,” Smith said after earning his first Truck Series victory.

It was do-or-die, as winning the race was his only path to advance in the playoffs. He made no apologies for moving Creed, who dominated the race by leading 189 laps, out of the way after the final restart.

“I think any other driver that was in my situation would have done the exact same thing,” said Smith, who had only three top-5 finishes in the first 17 races before breaking through at Bristol. “If you wouldn’t have done that, I think you’re in the sport for the wrong reasons.”

Creed, who drives for GMS Racing, a team founded by Las Vegas businessman Maury Gallagher, said he expected the physical tactics from his pursuers.

“I was kind of at their mercy,” said the veteran driver, who already had clinched a spot in the Round of 8 with wins at World Wide Technology Raceway and Darlington. “I knew I was going to get hit — I just didn’t know where.”

Creed, who was second in last year’s playoff race at LVMS behind Austin Hill, suggested it would be different in the remaining playoff races beginning at LVMS.

“They did what they had to do to win,” he said of Smith’s elbows-out pass. “I don’t know if they’re going to get away with that in the next round.”

Creed, Smith and Nemechek will be joined by Matt Crafton, Stewart Friesen, rookie Carson Hocevar, Zane Smith and Ben Rhodes on the list of championship-eligible drivers. Austin Hill, who crashed, and Todd Gilliland, who slipped from seventh to 10th after the final restart, were eliminated at Bristol.

Gilliland missed advancing by two points.

Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.