Sammy Smith pre-race at Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Bennett Transporation and Logistics 250. (Photo: Sydney Redden | The Podium Finish)
HAMPTON, Ga. — After a tough result last week at Daytona International Speedway, Sammy Smith rebounded at Atlanta, finishing in fourth place in the Bennett Transportation and Logistics 250.
Smith stayed up front despite all of the late-race cautions and restarts, finding himself with a shot for the victory on the final restart with three laps to go.
On that restart, he gave a great push to JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier in the bottom lane, who cleared race leader Austin Hill momentarily, but did not slide up in front of the No. 21, electing to stay on the inside. The bottom line was not able to generate enough energy to make another run at the win, allowing Hill to escape with the victory.
Sammy Smith (No. 8) racing against Taylor Gray (No. 54) during the Bennett Transportation and Logistics 250. (Photo: Hayden Hutchison | The Podium Finish)
“I felt like the (No.) 21 was definitely the best car by far,” Smith told reporters post-race. “So, (I was) just trying to really help the (No.) 7 surge forward and once he got out there, we just kind of lost momentum for our bottom line there with three to go.”
Even with extra help on the bottom lane, he was still not sure if it would have been enough for anyone to beat Hill.
“Honestly no, he was so fast,” said Smith on if anyone had shot at beating Hill. “So, it would’ve taken at least three or four of us to get there.”
With the fourth-place finish, Smith now has four consecutive top 10 finishes at Atlanta Motor Speedway, dating back to the 2023 season. This stretch of top 10s is also the longest active streak in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Sammy Smith (No. 8) racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway during the Bennett Transportation and Logistics 250. (Photo: Sydney Redden | The Podium Finish)
The finish is also a good momentum builder to start the season off on the right note heading into Circuit of the Americas next weekend, something Smith cited following the race.
“It’s a great day. After Daytona last week, you try to come here and get some momentum for the year,” Smith said. “So, it was great. Just thanks to Pilot, TMC, JRM, everybody on the team brought a really fast (No.) 8 car. We made some adjustments there after the first stage and felt like it really came to life.”
