- Chandler Smith qualified 16th for The Loop 121.
- Smith quickly jumped multiple positions at the start of the race to move into 13th before the first caution. On the first restart, Smith took advantage of the city-traffic jam to crack the top 10, where he’d finish stage one.
- Shortly after the start of stage two, the No. 34 spun to bring out another caution. Smith told crew chief Bruce Schlicker that his tires felt good. Schlicker told Smith to save as much fuel as he could during the caution period to open up a new strategy for later in the race.
- The Loop 121 was red flagged 25 laps into the race, as lightning struck near the course. After the delay led to the postponement of the event until Sunday, the race was deemed official three laps short of the official midway point, due to torrential rain. Smith finished eighth, per the running order at the time of the red flag.
“I’m always happy with a top-10 finish. Myself and the team needed it, especially after missing the chance to finish strongly at Nashville. It’s not like we didn’t have to work for it either. We gained a bunch of spots with just 16 laps of green flag racing. While the weather could have been much better, I was really happily surprised with the event as a whole.”
– Chandler Smith
