Chandler Smith can take pride with his best Xfinity Series performance to date. (Photo: Erik Smith | The Podium Finish)
LAS VEGAS – Chandler Smith was so close to his breakthrough moment in Saturday’s Alsco Uniforms 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
After winning the pole on Friday afternoon, Smith drove a patient, steady race in his No. 16 Quick Tie Products Chevy Camaro, the 20-year-old Talking Rock, Georgia native showcased maturity and poise with his fourth and sixth place results in Stages 1 and 2.
In the final moments of the 200-lap race, Smith applied the spurs to his Kaulig Racing machine. With Stage 3 lacking any caution periods, aggression counted above all else over patience.
Smith took the lead from Kyle Busch, his teammate, on Lap 102, holding onto the number one position for all but Laps 141 through 145 during the final pit stop cycles for the lead lap contenders.
Regaining the lead on Lap 146, Smith seemed to be in the catbird seat, clicking off laps and closing in on his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series win. Driving past some of the lapped drivers in the closing moments, Smith’s car began to pick up a push in traffic.
Smith spent a majority of his Saturday afternoon in position for his first Xfinity win. (Photo: Christopher Vargas | The Podium Finish)
Still, Smith kept focused in the closing moments as he worked ardently to maintain his lead over Austin Hill, Justin Allgaier and Busch.
Despite Smith’s valiant efforts fighting a tight handling car, his advantage vanished on the race’s penultimate lap.
Hill rocketed past Smith off Turn 4 on Lap 199, taking the lead and pulling away immediately from the rookie.
Not long after, Allgaier scooted past Smith for the second position, leaving the race’s finish among the two veteran racers.
As Hill scored his second win of the 2023 season, Smith drove to a third place result.
“Overall, I got a little tight there at the very end which… it is what it is,” Smith said to FOX Sports’ Josh Sims. “That’s a tough pill to swallow. There’s some things I could have done inside before we started building tight, just getting by, we needed to have a bigger bumper.”
While he saw a potential win slip through the cracks, he considered the positives from his stellar performance.
The 20-year-old Georgian thinks there’s more rewarding days ahead for his No. 16 team. (Photo: Christopher Vargas | The Podium Finish)
“All in all, I can’t be too disappointed,” he said. “This is my sixth start, third start with Kaulig Racing. We had a really, really fast Quick Tie Product Chevy Camaro.”
Based on an otherwise sparkling afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Smith made it known that this will not be an exception to the norm.
“I just really appreciate Matt Kaulig, Chris Rice, everybody at Kaulig Racing for bringing me on board (and) believing in me. We’re gonna win a few races this year, for sure,” he said.
