A driver’s worst nightmare unfolded at Nashville Superspeedway today. During the Truck series qualifying, even though driver Chandler Smith completely shattered a long-standing Denny Hamlin record at the track, he will start the race from 22nd on the grid after unavoidable natural circumstances.

Nashville rain washes away Chandler Smith’s glory

Denny Hamlin posted a time of 29.534 seconds last year to become the fastest driver around Nashville. Now imagine someone absolutely shattering that time, but with inferior machinery. Chandler Smith went ahead and posted a time of 28.894 seconds during today’s now-defunct qualifying session in the NASCAR Cup Series. A gap of 0.640 seconds is like 4-5 car lengths on track. It is the same gap that stopped Shane van Gisbergen from winning the NASCAR Cup Series race at COTA this year against Tyler Reddick.

For reference, the best record by a Truck Series driver at Nashville was awarded to Corey Heim in 2025. And his time is nowhere close to Smith. Heim’s 30.240s pales against Smith’s 28.894s; a 1.346-second gap. Yet, despite all the glory and the comparison against Denny Hamlin, Smith failed to secure himself a front row spot for the race.

As it turns out, while Chandler Smith was leading the pack on the timesheets, NASCAR had to cancel the qualifying session due to heavy rain. The majority of the field had already made their runs for the qualifying session, and they were nowhere near Chandler Smith’s time. But the worst part about this entire scenario is that Chandler Smith’s lap won’t be counted for a potential pole or lap record since the entire session was cancelled.

Imagine being 2 seconds faster than your peers and ahead of the Cup Series drivers with the most elite equipment and still not getting recognized because of an external influence that couldn’t be controlled. That’s Chandler Smith right now. And it looks like the situation hurt him as expected. “I want to cry,” Smith later posted on his X account. Runs like Smith’s are hard to come by in motorsports.

Such records are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that becomes a memorable moment for a driver’s career. For Smith, it will be the worst feeling tomorrow if someone else breaks the record and takes away the recognition in his stead. All because of the bad weather.

NASCAR Truck Series qualifying results and starting grid

For now, Smith is relegated to the back of the field while his teammate, Layne Riggs, starts from pole position. Smith will have to make his way to the front, only to be greeted by the likes of Kaden Honeycutt, Gio Ruggiero, Christian Eckes, and Jesse Love in the top 5. He has a long day ahead of him in the race, and the pole position would’ve definitely come to his advantage.

Here are the top-10 drivers for the Allegiance 200 race start on Friday: