Chandler Smith breaks down the moves and the misses resulting in P13 finish at Rockingham
NASCAR driver Chandler Smith looked back on his performance in the Truck Series race at Rockingham Speedway, which returned to the NASCAR schedule after nearly 12 years. Despite running strong for much of the race, Smith slipped back more than 10 positions in the closing laps, ultimately missing out on a podium finish.
The 22-year-old Georgia native started the Black's Tire 200 in P2, sharing the Front Row with ThorSport Racing driver Jack Garcia. Smith maintained his track position throughout the race; however, he ran out of fuel while he was running P2 behind Tyler Ankrum, with less than three laps to go. He eventually secured a P13 finish at The Rock.
After the race, former JGR driver Chandler Smith spoke with FOX Sports journalist Bob Pockrass to reflect on his performance at the North Carolina-based track. Smith noted that he believed race winner Tyler Ankrum was running shorter on fuel than his #38 Ford in the closing laps. While that turned out to be true, Ankrum still managed to hold on and take the win.
Smith said:
"We thought Tyler was shorter than us, so I kind of was just racing the #34 (Layne Riggs) out back. And then the #5 (Toni Breidinger) kind of put me in a bad spot, lapping her to where the #34 was able to get to me and then I had to start pushing again.
"Once the #34 got to us, I started going, picked it back up and was trying to, you know, envision I was racing him for the win, but somehow the #18, they were able to have more fuel than us. So, tip of the cap to those guys."
Chandler Smith drives the #38 Ford F-150 for Front Row Motorsports, competing full-time in the Craftsman Truck Series. Before returning to Trucks, Smith ran two full-time Xfinity Series seasons with Kaulig Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing, despite finishing P5 overall last season.
Although the three-time Xfinity race winner missed the podium at The Rock, Smith secured his first win of the season at Bristol Motor Speedway last weekend. Moreover, Rockingham Speedway has been the only race where the #38 driver has finished outside the top ten this season.
"The good lord works in mysterious ways" - Chandler Smith on winning his first Truck race since 2022
Chandler Smith drove down victory lane after a hard-fought battle with former Cup Series champion Kyle Larson, who was attempting a three-peat at Bristol Motor Speedway. Smith not only secured his first Truck victory since Richmond in 2022, but also denied the HMS driver to sweep all three races at the 0.533-mile short oval.
Following the end of the race, Smith shared his thoughts on driving down victory lane despite having an 'unknown' future in the sport.
“I'm more excited for this team than I am for myself[...] The good lord works in mysterious ways. My life's been really crazy here recently, and there are a lot of unknowns about my future going into the season,” he shared.
Catch the next Truck Series action at Texas Motor Speedway on May 2 at 8:00 PM Eastern time.