For a driver who finished 30th in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series playoff opener at Darlington Raceway and currently occupies next-to-last place in the standings, Chandler Smith has a surprisingly sanguine outlook entering Thursday night‘s UNOH 250 Presented by Ohio Logistics at Bristol Motor Speedway (8 p.m. ET, FS1, NASCAR Radio Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“Honestly, I‘m not too worried about it,” said Smith, who crashed out of the Darlington race after 14 laps and is two points below the current elimination line for the Round of 8. “ … Going back to Bristol, we were really strong there earlier this year,” said Smith. “Then New Hampshire as well, so I‘m not really worried about the point situation.”
In fact, Smith won the spring race at “Thunder Valley” from the third starting position. Both he and Front Row Motorsports teammate Layne Riggs have had consistently fast Fords of late.
RELATED: Bristol schedule | Truck Series playoff standings
“We‘ve still got two races left going back to Bristol, where we won earlier this year and then New Hampshire for the last race of this round, where I‘ve been really strong in the past as well,” Smith said.
“I‘m not really discouraged or anything about that. I think our trucks here recently have been really good. Everybody at Front Row Motorsports has been giving me a truck capable of going out there and winning.”
The Sept. 20 EJP 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (Noon ET, FS1, NASCAR Radio Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will trim the playoff field from 10 drivers to eight. Smith trails eighth-place Jake Garcia by two points and seventh-place Rajah Caruth by four. Kaden Honeycutt is 10th in the standings, seven points below the elimination line.
Already guaranteed a spot in the Round of 8, eight-race winner Corey Heim goes for his fourth straight Truck Series victory on Friday. Heim has taken the checkered flag in four of the last five races, three times from the pole position.
Read the full article here
