Sammy Smith advanced to the Round of 8 by one point after a third-place finish in the Blue Cross NC 250. (Photo: Grady Lundberg | The Podium Finish)
CONCORD, N.C. — Entering the Blue Cross NC 250, Sammy Smith found himself 14 points below the cutline, staring postseason elimination in the face. Despite that, he was able to advance to the Round of 8 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL.
Even after a solid day overall, Smith needed a “Hail Mary” pit strategy and some good fortune after a timely caution to narrowly clinch the final transfer spot.
“It was a long shot coming into the day,” said Smith. “We got lucky with that Hail Mary move Phillip (Bell, crew chief) called. Amazing call by him to do that.”
With just three laps remaining, Smith was running in ninth place, six points behind Taylor Gray for the final transfer spot, when his No. 8 team decided to gamble and pit to put on fresh tires. While on pit road, a caution came out after Sage Karam wrecked, allowing for Smith to stay out and restart in seventh place for the overtime restart.
Sammy Smith during the Blue Cross NC 250 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where he’d finish in fourth place. (Photo: Grady Lundberg | The Podium Finish)
On the ensuing restart, Smith got exactly what he needed, maneuvering his way up the field to finish in third place, while Gray dropped back, ultimately finishing in 13th. This allowed Smith to advance by one point.
The feeling of relief was not instant for Smith after crossing the start/finish line for the final time. Due to a caution for a multi-car incident in Turn 7 on the final lap, which froze the field and ended the race, NASCAR officials reviewed the footage for almost 15 minutes before officially declaring the final point tallies.
“It was from 10 (laps) to go, thinking we’re not really going to make it in because we didn’t really have the speed to drive up, and it didn’t look like he (Gray) was going to lose enough positions,” Smith said. “Phil made a great call to pit, and then obviously I had to make a lot of aggressive moves there. Luckily, we were able to make it in.”
Sammy Smith (No. 8) racing during the Blue Cross NC 250 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL. (Photo: Grady Lundberg | The Podium Finish)
The advancement into the Round of 8 now marks the third consecutive season in which Smith has accomplished that feat in just three seasons of driving full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The next round features multiple tracks where the No. 8 team has run up front, as he enters as the defending winner at Talladega Superspeedway and has finished inside the top three in the past two Round of 8 races at Martinsville Speedway.
Smith and the No. 8 team had lofty expectations entering the postseason, given the success JR Motorsports has had as a team this season, along with Smith’s own personal success in the past two NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs. After a 37th-place finish due to an engine failure at Bristol Motor Speedway, those expectations looked bleak, but back-to-back top fives at Kansas Speedway and the ROVAL were just enough to keep those goals alive for another round.
“Just relieved because I felt like we are a Championship 4 caliber team, and unfortunately, what happened at Bristol (Motor Speedway) took us out of it,” Smith said. “So, we’re just gonna regroup and just try to do everything we can to go make the final four.”
