No. 18 TMC Toyota GR Supra News and Notes:
- SMITH AT DARLINGTON: Sammy Smith has one NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) start at Darlington Raceway. Smith started the race in ninth place, but struggled early in the race. He finished the first stage in 35th, but continued to move through the field, salvaging an 11th-place finish.
- DAYTONA RECAP:Smith had a strong showing at Daytona International Speedway last Friday night. He started the race on the second row after qualifying third – the best Toyota qualifying effort of the afternoon. Smith led three laps early in the race before the No. 18 got shuffled outside of the top 10 towards the end of the stage resulting in an 11th-place finish in the first stage. Smith gained spots on pit road and stayed in the top 10 for the majority of Stage 2. He came away with a fourth-place finish in the stage. Smith was still in contention for the win throughout Stage 3 before getting caught up in a late-race caution. The team fixed the damage to salvage some spots and finished in 21st.
- ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Smith is eligible to compete for the 2023 NXS Sunoco Rookie of the Year (ROTY). The other drivers competing for the title are Chandler Smith, Parker Retzlaff, and Blaine Perkins.
- ARCA EAST CHAMPION x2: Smith defended his 2021 ARCA Menards Series East (AMSE) Championship in 2022 on the strength of five wins and a top-five finish in all of the AMSE races. He also won four ARCA Menards Series races and one ARCA Menards Series West race in 2022.
- ON THE PITBOX: Crew Chief Jeff Meendering will head up the No. 18 team during the 2023 season. He has visited Victory Lane eight times as a NXS crew chief, most recently with Smith at Phoenix in March 2023. His teams have collected 57 top-five finishes, 120 top-10 finishes, and 11 pole positions under his leadership.
- JGR AT DARLINGTON: Joe Gibbs Racing has made 83 NXS starts at Darlington Raceway since 1998. Drivers have combined for 11 wins, 37 top-five finishes, and 52 top-10 finishes. The organization has nine pole awards and 1,381 laps led.
- FOLLOW ALONG: Follow along for updates and a behind-the-scenes look at Smith’s 2023 NXS Seasons.
Twitter: @SammySmithSS I Facebook: Sammy Smith Racing I Instagram: @sammysmithss_
- RACE INFO: The NXS Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 at Darlington is scheduled for 3:30 PM EST on Saturday, September 2. The race will be broadcast on NBC, MRN, Sirius XM and available to stream on the NBC Sports app.
From the Driver’s Seat:
Sammy Smith: “We definitely had some work to do after the spring race at Darlington. We’ve been working on getting the car better so that we can have a good run this weekend. I think having some experience there now will help us during the race, too. Looking forward to this weekend to try to get back on track going into the playoffs.”
JGR PR
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