Honestly, if you were looking for a standard NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series trophy presentation yesterday, you might have been checking your watch a little early. The big oval-track season hasn't kicked off its points-paying schedule yet—Daytona is still a few weeks away—but that doesn't mean there wasn't serious metal being pushed to the absolute limit.
If you're asking who won truck race yesterday, specifically on Saturday, January 17, 2026, the answer depends on which "dirt and dust" circle you're following. While the NASCAR world is currently obsessed with the Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, the biggest "truck" victory actually happened out in the grueling desert of Arizona at the Parker 400.
The Desert King: Phil Blurton’s Masterclass at the Parker 400
While everyone was glued to the midget cars in Oklahoma, Phil Blurton was busy absolutely dismantling the field in Parker. Blurton, driving for the Can-Am factory team, took the overall win in the Parker 400 Limited Race.
He didn't just win; he dominated.
Blurton finished the course with a time of 5:49:38. To put that in perspective, he was the only driver in the entire field to break the six-hour mark. He spent the day hunting down Ronnie Anderson, finally making the pass about 50 miles into the race. Once he got clean air, it was game over. He later admitted he was having so much fun with the new Maverick R that he didn't even want to back down when his team told him he had a massive gap.
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Behind him, the podium was rounded out by:
- Phil Blurton (The runaway winner)
- Ronnie Anderson (Finished at 6:05:38)
- Dustin Jones (Grabbed the final podium spot at 6:07:44)
It's a different kind of "truck" racing than what you see at Martinsville, but the stakes are just as high and the machinery is arguably more punished.
Wait, What About NASCAR?
If you were looking for a NASCAR-sanctioned winner, we have to talk about the Chili Bowl because that’s where all the Truck Series stars are currently hiding.
The big story yesterday was Emerson Axsom winning the 40th annual Chili Bowl Nationals. Now, Axsom isn't a "truck driver" in the full-time sense yet, but he beat a field stacked with guys you see on Sundays and Fridays. He was driving for Kevin Swindell and called it the "best day of my life."
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But let’s look at the actual Truck Series regulars who were out there yesterday:
- Corey Day: A lot of people are calling him the next big thing. He’s running a full NASCAR season with Hendrick/Tricon, but yesterday he was battling through the B-Main at Tulsa.
- Sheldon Creed: The 2020 Truck Series champ made his debut but didn't quite have the Saturday he wanted after a rough preliminary night.
- Kaden Honeycutt: Fresh off a stellar 2025 where he almost grabbed the title, he was right in the mix.
The NASCAR Truck Series 2026 Season: What’s Next?
If you're wondering when the "real" trucks (the F-150s, Silverados, and Tundras) hit the pavement for points, you've got a little bit of a wait. The 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series officially starts on Friday, February 13, at Daytona International Speedway.
This season is actually going to be pretty weird, in a good way. For the first time since 2012, Ram is back as a manufacturer. That's a massive shift for the garage area. Plus, the schedule is throwing some serious curveballs. We're getting a street race in St. Petersburg on February 28 and another one at the San Diego Naval Base in June.
Why Yesterday Matters for the Rest of the Year
You might think an off-road race in Arizona or a midget race in a barn in Oklahoma doesn't matter for the NASCAR season. You'd be wrong.
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These "extra-curricular" races are where drivers like Corey Heim and Layne Riggs sharpen their edge. When you see who won truck race yesterday, you're seeing the guys who refuse to take an offseason. Phil Blurton’s win shows that the technology in off-road racing is catching up to the big-budget NASCAR programs, and the crossover between dirt stars and asphalt pros is at an all-time high.
If you’re keeping track for your fantasy leagues or just want to be the smartest person at the bar, keep your eyes on the names popping up in these January events. The momentum from a desert win or a Chili Bowl podium almost always carries over to the high banks of Daytona.
Your next move? Go set your DVR for February 13. The Fresh From Florida 250 at Daytona is going to be the official start of the madness, and with Ram joining the fray, the aero-wars are going to be unlike anything we've seen in the last decade.