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Chandler Smith is NASCAR racing in 2025

The possibility that he was going to work for Mike Smith Construction was very real too

NASCAR Xfinity: NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship
Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Chandler Smith is going to race in NASCAR next season but he wants you to know there very much was a scenario where he went to work for Smith Construction in 2025 until a good option presented itself for 2026.

“I have some exciting things going on next year,” Smith said. “I have signed something and I think we’re going to share the news in the next couple of weeks.”

Smith wanted to stay at Joe Gibbs Racing but there was not room for him to race full-time there with the lineup that was put together for 2025. The way NASCAR works, the roulette wheel doesn’t always give a driver the best options when it becomes clear that the current situation is no longer tenable.

Be it the Wilson Motorsports Super Late Model that he took to a Snowball Derby victory in 2021, the same car he is racing this weekend in the prestigious short track event, or his stops at Kyle Busch Motorsports and Kaulig Racing before landing at Joe Gibbs Racing, it’s important to Smith that he is both competitive and able to provide for his growing family.

And with two months left to go in the 2024 NASCAR season, Smith wasn’t sure what avenue existed for him to contend for wins and also secure a livelihood for his wife and two children. So yes, Smith Construction was an option until some phone calls were made and dots connected in recent weeks.

“It was tough,” Smith said. “I was still with our Joe Gibbs Racing team and still trying to win a championship for them, and realized I needed to come to peace with everything and trust God with this situation, that it was going to work out the way it should and just enjoy racing with the guys that I really enjoyed racing with.

“I also wanted to not take for granted driving race cars that I may not ever have the chance to step foot in again. So I did really enjoy those last eight weeks of the season. Did it still keep me up at night? It really did.

“I have a wife and two kids that I need to provide for and God has blessed me with a talent where I have proven that I can race at this level to make a living for them. But there was a reality where it looked like it might not make sense for me to race cars for a living.

“I really was preparing to go work for my dad and it wasn’t easy. But we serve a loving God that has a purpose and a plan and I have always tried to keep in mind that there are more important things than racing. But I am looking forward next season to showcasing that talent that I was blessed with and all glory to Him.”

The frustrating part to Smith was that he feels like he earned opportunities on merit. No doubt, Smith came from a family that provided him opportunities to get to this point but he has won races in both Trucks and Xfinity and competed for championships at those levels. He has five Truck Series wins and three Xfinity Series wins.

What he doesn’t have is the means to continue racing at the highest levels without manufacturer, ownership and corporate support. But he believes he earned it to a degree on the merits.

He says he belongs at the highest levels.

“For sure, 100 percent,” Smith said. “It’s just, as you know, a lot more than proving yourself. There are a lot of moving pieces and right places and right times. You have to have a good business sense for when to make decisions. You have to take care of your partners, all these smaller pieces to a larger puzzle.

“But to answer the question, I do feel like I have been able to go out and perform at a high level for every organization I’ve been in. And once it became public knowledge that I was a free agent, I got a lot of phone calls and the business side of that conversation sucked, but it was rewarding that everyone said they were excited by the idea of racing with me.

“They all have a business to run and I completely get that but this puzzle is just complicated to put together sometimes in ways I don’t think everyone fully understands.”

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