Sammy Smith just pulled off a rare Talladega feat not seen in over twenty years

It was quite the weekend for Sammy Smith at Talladega Superspeedway. After announcing a new deal with TRICON for 2027, he also prepared for double duty in the NASCAR Truck and O’Reilly Series.

Driving the No. 7 Spire Motorsports entry, he passed Ty Majeski and Corey Heimin the final seconds of Friday’s Truck race to claim victory. It was his first-ever Truck win, coming in his 11th career start.

Less than 24 hours later, Smith was competing in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (NOAPS) race in the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. He once again pulled off a last-lap pass, overtaking teammate Carson Kvapil to claim his fourth career NOAPS win and ended a winless streak exceeding 50 races.

By pulling off these back-to-back wins on the same weekend, Smith managed to place his name among a very small list of drivers. Talladega is one of the most unpredictable tracks on the schedule, and only three drivers besides Smith have ever managed to win multiple times on the same weekend there.

The last time it happened? 23 years ago…and it was Smith’s NOAPS team owner behind the wheel.

 (Note: Mark Martin won the 1997 spring Talladega races for both Cup and O’Reilly, but they were separated by a few weeks due to the Cup race being rained out)

2003 — Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Dale got to enjoy Part 2 of Smith’s back-to-back Talladega wins this weekend as an owner, but 23 years ago, he was the driver collecting the checkered flags himself. A decade after his father pulled off the feat, Dale Jr. did it as well in 2003. In the Saturday race, he took the lead on Lap 58 and never gave it back for the remainder of the 117-lap race. The following day, he continued his incredible Cup streak with four consecutive wins at Talladega, while also sweeping the weekend along with his Saturday NASCAR O’Reilly win. In the Cup race, Earnhardt Jr. made an incredible three-wide pass for the lead where he nearly ended up on the apron and the held off all challengers to claim victory just ahead of Kevin Harvick.

Since April 5-6 of 2003, no driver managed to win more than one national-level NASCAR race at Talladega on the same weekend until Smith did it in the fall of 2026.

1993 — Dale Earnhardt Sr.

Dale Earnhardt Sr. after 1993 NASCAR Cup win at Talladega

Photo by: ISC Archives/CQ-Roll Call Group via Getty Images

It’s no surprise to see both Earnhardts on this list. Dale Sr. remains the all-time wins leader at Talladega with ten Cup victories, and he also got a NASCAR O’Reilly win along the way. In 1993, Michael Waltrip attempted to pass Earnhardt to the outside with two laps to go, but the ‘Man in Black’ fought back and held onto the race lead. He blocked all other attempts to pass him, and won the race with Randy LaJoie right behind him. One day later, he was back in the Cup car to collect another checkered flag. As part of his 1993 title campaign, his sixth and final win of the season came in the summer Talladega race. It was a truly dramatic fight, with Earnhardt battling Ernie Irvan to the line a thrilling photo finish. Earnhardt won the race, but only just with Irvan 0.005s behind as they raced side-by-side.

1992 — Ernie Irvan

Ernie Irvan after 1992 Talladega win

Photo by: ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images

Speaking of Irvan … the first time a NASCAR O’Reilly race was ever held at Talladega, Irvan was among several Cup stars who entered the race. He passed Earnhardt at the white flag and held the lead for the rest of the lap, claiming victory. The following day, he took the lead with ten laps to go and held off Sterling Marlin to earn back-to-back wins just one day apart. That was his sixth career Cup win, while the previous day’s victory was his third and final in the NASCAR O’Reilly Series. And of course, he holds the distinction of becoming the first to win more than one national-level NASCAR race at Talladega on the same weekend.

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