- SMITH AT DAYTONA: Sammy Smith will run the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway (DIS) this weekend in the No. 18 Pilot Flying J GR Supra. This race is an addition to his original eight race schedule with Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR). The NXS race this weekend with be Smith’s first run on the 2.5-mile superspeedway.
- WATKINS GLEN RECAP: Smith started 19th in the Sunoco Go Rewards 200 at Watkins Glen International (WGI). Pit strategy at the end of the first stage paid off as Smith got the first stage win of his NXS career. Smith worked through the field after his final pit stop in Stage Three. With four laps to go, William Byron and JGR teammate Ty Gibbs spun while battling for the lead. Smith capitalized and spent the last three laps chasing down the leaders, earning a career-best finish of third place.
- 2022 ARCA SERIES: Smith has won two ARCA Menards Series (AMS) races this year at Elko and Berlin. He has four poles this season with an average starting position of 2.4 and an average finish of 3.5 after running finishing in the top five in seven of the eight races he has competed in. In the ARCA Menards Series East (AMSE), Smith has three wins this season – New Smyrna, Pensacola, and Nashville – five races into the season. He finished in the top-five in both of the other races. He won the 2021 AMSE championship after winning three races and collecting one pole award.
- HE MAY BE A ROOKIE BUT…: Crew Chief Jason Ratcliff certainly is not! Ratcliff has 14 starts at DIS in the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) with one top-five finish and three top-10 finishes. In NXS, Ratcliff has 28 starts at DIS with 10 top-five finishes, 16 top-10 finishes, 167 laps led and an average finish of 13.5.
- NO. 18 IN 2022: The JGR No. 18 has had seven different drivers so far in 2022 – Drew Dollar, Trevor Bayne, Ryan Truex, Bubba Wallace, John Hunter Nemechek, Connor Mosack and Sammy Smith. The No. 18 team has an average start of 9.0, an average finish of 17th, 259 laps led, six top-five finishes, and nine top-10 finishes.
- JGR AT DAYTONA: JGR drivers have combined for four wins in 111 starts at DIS. The team has won seven pole awards, finished in the top-five 28 times, the top-10 46 times, and has led a total of 700 laps.
- FOLLOW ALONG: Follow along for updates and a behind-the-scenes look at Smith’s 2022 NXS/ARCA Seasons.
Twitter: @SammySmithSS I Facebook: Sammy Smith Racing I Instagram: @sammysmithss_
- RACE INFO: The Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola at DIS is scheduled for 7:30 PM EST on Friday, August 26. The race will be broadcasted on USA, MRN, Sirius XM and available to stream on the NBC Sports app.
From the Driver’s Seat:
Sammy Smith: “I am excited to add Daytona to my Xfinity schedule with Joe Gibbs Racing this year. I think it is a track that every driver dreams of racing on so I’m thankful to get the opportunity. The guys at the shop have been working hard to send a great car to the track. With no practice, I’ll have to really focus on learning the track during the first few laps of the race but I’m looking forward to the challenge. We’re coming off a great run at Watkins Glen and if we stay out of trouble, I think we’ll get a solid finish out of the No. 18 Pilot Flying J GR Supra on Friday.”
Smith’s 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats:
| Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | Poles | Laps Led | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish |
| 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 9.3 | 17.5 |
JGR PR
