It’s been exactly five months since Chandler Smith last made an appearance in the ARCA Menards Series (ARCA) – but the wait is almost over. Smith, 16, who last season set the series ablaze will make his first start of the new year at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida on Saturday, March 9.
A member of the Toyota Racing Development (TRD) family, Smith will return to the seat of his now familiar No.20 Craftsman Toyota for his first of eleven races this season driving for Venturini Motorsports.
“I’m more than excited to get back to racing,” Smith said. “It’s really hard to be out of the car this long – the offseason is always the most difficult part of racing. But last week I had a chance to go down to Florida and knock some rust off. It was great to reunite with the Venturini guys and get back behind the wheel. We should have a really good Craftsman Toyota for Pensacola. I’m ready to get the season started.”
Returning for his sophomore season, the Georgia native splashed onto the ARCA scene by earning four consecutive General Tire Pole Awards to start his series career in 2018. He also won twice, winning at Madison International Speedway in June before closing his season with a dominant performance at Salem Speedway in which he led 199 of 200 laps. In just nine series starts during 2018, Smith topped all ARCA drivers by leading an impressive 763-laps enroute to winning the Series’ Lap Leader Award.
Last month it was announced Chandler Smith will take the wheel for four races later this year with Kyle Busch Motorsports in NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series.
The ARCA Menards Series takes to the half-mile Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida on Saturday, March 9. Practice starts at 1:00 pm; General Tire Pole Qualifying is set for 4:30 pm; and the green flag will drop at 8:00 pm. All times EST. The race will be aired LIVE on MAVTV.
VMS PR
- Truex repeats at the Monster Mile in the BetRivers 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash race - April 27, 2024
- Hodgdon & Silk Win NAPA Auto Parts Duels; Keane, Clement, & Hydar Score NAPA Auto Parts Duel Feature Wins at Stafford Speedway - April 27, 2024
- BetRivers 200 results from Dover Motor Speedway - April 27, 2024