Jake Garcia bagged his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win in his 94th start Thursday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, while pit-road mistakes and damage unraveled several championship contenders’ races.
The 21-year-old drove his No. 98 ThorSport Racing Ford to victory in the UNOH 250, finishing 1.305 seconds ahead of Bayley Currey after leading 104 laps.
The breakthrough also ended ThorSport’s 43-race winless stretch, which dated to Ty Majeski’s championship-clinching performance at Phoenix in November 2024. Garcia missed the 10-driver Chase field, but his team found a way to take control of the postseason opener.
“ThorSport Racing’s a really strong team, especially historically,” Garcia said. “Just proud of all my guys on the No. 98 team for being able to end that winless streak.”
Another first-time winner joins the club! pic.twitter.com/dPZ9HQNfk9
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) September 18, 2026
Rain interrupted qualifying while Garcia held the provisional fastest time, prompting NASCAR to set the grid based on its performance metric. He started 12th, then used an early tire stop to run a different strategy than the leaders.
His crew took only fuel during the second stage break, giving him track position over rivals who changed tires. Garcia then used the outside lane and clean air to move to the front.
However, Stewart Friesen interrupted that control on the Lap 220 restart. A three-wide fight involving Currey left Garcia chasing the lead, and he spent the next 10 laps working his way back. On Lap 230, he slipped underneath Friesen and completed the decisive pass.
“Had some adversity on that last restart, but fortunately the truck was fast enough to overcome that,” Garcia said.
Currey overtook Friesen on Lap 247 to secure a career-best result in his first Truck start of the season. The TRICON Garage truck chief made the most of his opportunity in the organization’s No. 5 Toyota.
“I’ve still got it, I guess,” Currey said. “Obviously wanted to win, but coming off the couch, I’m all right with it.”
Loose Wheels and Damage Hurt the Chase Favorites, Giving Jake Garcia an Edge
Layne Riggs initially looked ready to extend his championship advantage. The polesitter led the opening 135 laps and swept both stages before a slow stop dropped him to sixth for the final stage.
His problems escalated when he reported a loose right-rear wheel. A green-flag stop on Lap 161 cost him two laps, and subsequent contact with Nick Leitz inflicted substantial damage. Riggs eventually finished 32nd, 16 laps behind the winner.
“I had probably one of the top three hardest hits in my life,” Riggs said. “I can’t believe the truck was still rolling after that. Everything was just broke, destroyed.”
His early-stage points helped him retain the standings lead, but his advantage over Kaden Honeycutt shrank from 25 points to three. Honeycutt ran into his own loose-wheel problem, but a caution limited the damage and let him recover to eighth.
Chandler Smith also endured a difficult evening. NASCAR penalized him for speeding during the second stage break, and a late tire problem required another stop. He finished 24th and remained third in the championship, 30 points behind his Front Row Motorsports teammate.
Christian Eckes suffered early front-end damage and finished 30th, dropping four positions to eighth in the standings and falling to a 58-point deficit.
Non-Chase Drivers Sweep the Top Five
Behind Friesen in third, Justin Haley delivered a fourth-place finish and the first top-five finish for Kaulig Racing’s returning RAM program.
Tristan McKee followed in fifth after securing the ARCA Menards Series East championship earlier that evening. At 16, he became the youngest driver to achieve a Truck Series top-five finish.
Gio Ruggiero led the Chase contingent with a sixth-place finish. William Sawalich finished seventh, while Majeski and Grant Enfinger completed the top 10 behind Honeycutt. Ben Rhodes, Daniel Hemric and Tyler Ankrum took the next three positions.
Post-race inspection produced an additional consequence for Currey’s No. 5 and Smith’s No. 38 teams. Officials found one unsecured lug nut on each truck, costing both teams their pit-stall selection for Kansas.
The series continues its seven-race Chase at Kansas Speedway on September 26, with FS1 carrying the Race to Stop Suicide 200 at 1 p.m. ET.