Chandler Smith – No. 18 Safelite Tundra TRD Pro Camping World Trucks Sonoma Raceway Preview

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In: NASCAR Truck Series News
Chandler Chatter:
 
  • Chandler Smith and the No. 18 Safelite team head to Sonoma Raceway for Saturday’s DoorDash 250. It will be Smith’s first trip to Sonoma in any series and just his fifth career start on a road course in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series action. Across his first four starts, his fifth-place result earlier this year at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Tex. has been his best result.
 
  • Smith’s strong showing at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway last week helped catapult him up to second in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular season point standings, where he sits 17 points behind reigning series champion Ben Rhodes with five races remaining in the regular season. Smith led 40 laps, won the opening stage and despite suffering damage to his Safelite Tundra TRD Pro when another competitor slid up the track into him while battling for the lead, came back to finish third.
 
  • Through the first 11 events of the season Smith ranks first among Truck Series regulars in quality passes (483), second in average finish (9.1) and average starting position (7.3), third in driver rating (102.0) and fourth in average running position (8.812) and fastest laps run (69). He has produced one win, 96 laps led, five top-five and eight top-10 finishes in his sophomore campaign.
 
  • The Georgia driver earned NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year honors in 2021 and finished eighth in the championship standings after producing two victories, one pole, 213 laps led, six top-five and nine top-10 finishes in his first full-time season. He earned his first career Truck Series victory at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in September and in the series finale at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway earned his first career pole and swept all three stages en route to his second victory.
 
  • In addition to his Truck Series schedule in 2022, Smith is competing in a three-race schedule with Sam Hunt Racing (SHR). Smith finished 38th in his series debut at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway after a mid-race wreck and finished 21st at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway. His final race with SHR will come Oct. 22 at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway.
 
  •  Veteran crew chief Danny Stockman will once again call the shots for Smith and the No. 18 team in 2022. Stockman’s drivers have produced six victories at KBM across his first two seasons, including two with Smith behind the wheel in 2021. The veteran crew chief captured a Truck Series championship with Austin Dillon in 2011 and also won an Xfinity Series championship with Dillon in 2013. Stockman’s lone visit to Sonoma as a National Series crew chief resulted in a 24th-place finish with Austin Dillon in the 2019 Cup Series race at the California road course. He was atop the pit box for David Mayhew’s runner-up finish in the NASCAR West Series event in 2019. Smith’s fifth-place finish at COTA earlier this year was his best result across five races in Truck Series action on road courses.
 
  • Safelite, the nation’s largest provider of vehicle glass repair, replacement and recalibration services, returns to KBM for a fifth season and will be the primary sponsor on Smith’s Tundra TRD Pro Tundra for 16 races this year, including Saturday’s race at Sonoma. Charge Me will serve as an associate sponsor on the bedtop of Smith’s No. 18 Tundra TRD Pro this weekend. Charge Me was founded on the principle that the electric vehicle (EV) revolution will require robust infrastructure support at all levels.
 
 
Chandler Smith, Driver Q&A:
 
You are 17 points out of the lead with five races remaining. How do you like your chances of winning the regular season championship?
“With the stretch of top-10 finishes we have had recently with our No. 18 Safelite/Charge Me team we have definitely put ourselves back into a position to fight for the regular season championship. That will be our main priority these next five races because winning the regular season championship comes with a good chunk of playoff points, so getting those points would definitely be beneficial for our team when the playoffs start.”
 
We are in a stretch of races at very unique tracks, is it fun taking on a new challenge each week?
“It’s definitely a fun stretch where last week we went to what I would classify as a short track and then coming we have a couple road course races, a dirt race and Nashville Superspeedway. I think NASCAR has done a good job making the Truck Series schedule unique, but if I had it my way I’d add in a few more short tracks because those are my favorite.”
 
Sonoma is a new track for you. How do you prepare for a track you’ve never been to?
“To prepare for Sonoma I’ve watched a lot of film and spent a lot of time at TRD on the simulator. I feel like I’ve been pretty fast on the road courses for as few of them as I’ve raced. I’m as prepared as I possibly can be for Saturday and really looking forward to the challenge of taking on a new road course.”
 
 
Chandler Smith Career Highlights:
 
  • Across 49 career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts has recorded three wins, 402 laps led, 19 top-five and 26 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 13.6.
  • Earned NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year honors in 2021 and finished eighth in the championship standings after producing two victories, one pole, 213 laps led, six top-five and nine top-10 finishes in his first full-time season. He earned his first career Truck Series victory at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in September and in the series finale at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway earned his first career pole and swept all three stages en route to his second victory.
  • Has posted an average finish of 29.5 across two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts in 2022, with a best result of 22nd coming at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway.
  • Has collected nine wins, 10 poles, 1783 laps led, 22 top-five and 29 top-10 finishes en route to an average finish of 5.4 across 34 career ARCA Menards Series starts.
  • Has numerous Super Late Model victories across his career, including two marquee wins: the Snowball Derby at 5 Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla. (2021) and SpeedFest at Watermelon Capital Speedway in Cordele, Georgia (2018). Will compete in several Super Late Model events around his Truck Series schedule in 2022.
 
 
Chandler Smith’s No. 18 Safelite Tundra:
 
KBM-72: The No. 18 Safelite team will unload KBM-72 for Saturday’s race at Sonoma. It is the same Tundra TRD Pro that Smith raced to a fifth-place finish with at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Tex. in March.
 
 
KBM Notes of Interest:
 
  • Across 35 starts on road courses, KBM drivers have earned one win, 13 top-five and 15 top-10 finishes, with an average starting position of 9.4 and an average finish of 12.3.
  • Erik Jones picked up KBM’s lone road course victory in 2015 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ont.
  • KBM holds the Camping World Truck Series records for most career wins (94) and most wins in a single season (14 in 2014). With his victory at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway, Corey Heim became the 18th different driver to win a Truck Series event for KBM. In addition to collecting a series-record seven Owner’s Championships, the organization has produced two championship-winning drivers: Erik Jones (2015) and Christopher Bell (2017).
  • The No. 18, the number which was on the first Tundra that went to victory lane for KBM in 2010, has 24 career victories.
 

KBM PR

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