(Photo: Cody Porter | The Podium Finish)
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Chandler Smith is racing for a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship on Friday.
Win or loss, it’ll be a bittersweet ending.
Smith is making his final start for Toyota and Kyle Busch Motorsports ahead of his switch to Kaulig Racing in 2023. He’s spent over six years with Toyota Racing Development and wants to go out on top.
“They have done so much for me,” Smith said of TRD. “They have gotten me to where I am and have supported me in everything – my highs and lows, for sure. They have been really supportive, but I got the opportunity of a lifetime that I couldn’t turn down.
“A whole two years from being at the bottom and kind of stairsteps to the top a little bit and that was just by faith. If that is what the case is tomorrow, what a testimony. That’s what having faith in the Lord – that’s the outcome. That alone would mean more to me than winning the championship – being a testimony and an example.”
The opportunity to drive Xfinity full-time for Kaulig wouldn’t have happened without his success this season. Smith won three times, including the second race of the Playoffs at Richmond to punch a spot into the Round of 8.
Overall, the key has been consistency. Smith has top-10 finishes in 15 of 22 races and finished the regular season second in points after a win at Pocono.
“I’ve got three wins. We probably should have five or six,” Smith said. I feel just like the raw speed week in and week out. We have the consistency. I don’t know if I would say we are a championship-caliber team – I don’t know what defines a championship-caliber team. It is being mistakeless. We are human, we are going to make mistakes.”
(Photo: Trent Neilson | The Podium Finish)
Smith finished 2021 by winning two of the final five races to build momentum for 2022. His second win came at Phoenix, just after he was eliminated from the Playoffs at Martinsville.
Though Smith is encouraged about his previous success at Phoenix, he’s worried about outside factors.
“These trucks – I can’t control what goes on other than I drive race cars,” Smith said. “I can’t control if a bolt gets less loose leaving the race shop and we go into turn one at Phoenix and we stuff it in the fence. I can’t control that and that can dictate the rest of the weekend. I know we should have a fast truck, but I wouldn’t say it necessarily – if we get to Phoenix, we are going to win.”
Smith will look to win his first Truck Series title with crew chief Danny Stockman calling the shots. Stockman won the 2011 Truck Series championship with Austin Dillon.
“The moment is huge, and you don’t get these opportunities every year,” Stockman said. “We’ve been preparing ourselves throughout the season to be able to do that, and there is no other team in this garage that I would rather take than who I have, and no other driver.”
Although the championship race is arguably the most important in Smith’s young career, he’s treating it like any other race weekend. He finished third in practice Thursday and will qualify for the pole before Friday’s race.
“It’s just another race,” Smith said. “I don’t see the pressure being added because I’m just treating this like any other weekend and there is a bigger prize to be had in victory lane if we were to get it.”
Friday’s Lucas Oil 150 is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET on FS1. Smith will fight Zane Smith, Ty Majeski and Ben Rhodes for the championship.
Editor’s Notes
Luis Torres contributed to this feature on-site from Phoenix and Avondale, Arizona.
