- SMITH AT TEXAS: Chandler Smith has one prior NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) start at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS). Last year, he finished fourth his NXS debut at the 1.5-mile track. The 21-year-old driver also has three NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) starts at TMS with one top-five finish and two top-10 finishes.
- PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Smith faced an uphill battle in the NXS race at Martinsville Speedway last Saturday night. In the opening laps of practice on Friday, Smith hit the wall, damaging the car. He failed to post a qualifying lap which relegated him to a 37th-place starting position. The No. 81 team repaired the car on Friday night and had it ready to race on Saturday. Smith battled through the field in the first stage moving up 22 spots to 15th by the end of the stage. He steadily moved the No. 81 Toyota GR Supra through the field in Stage 2 to an eight-place finish in the stage. In the closing laps of the race, Smith battled with teammates Aric Almirola and Sheldon Creed for the top spot, leading three of the last 50 laps of the race. Smith finished in third-place, maintaining his streak of top-10 finishes which is now a series leading eight top-10’s in a row, dating back to Phoenix 2023.
- QUICKTIE: Quick Tie Products, Inc., (“QuickTie”) manufactures and distributes the QuickTie™ System, a proprietary, patented hold down system for high wind and seismic construction. The QuickTie™ System comprises wire rope cables with threaded rod studs swaged to each end, each with a steel bearing plate on the top end. Their cables are designed to cinch walls to their foundations from the uppermost top plates, thereby effectively resisting roof uplift and building overturning pressures.QuickTie also manufactures hangers, hold downs, plywood clips and all structural building components.
- ON THE PITBOX: Crew Chief of the No. 81, Jeff Meendering has visited Victory Lane 10 times as a NXS crew chief, most recently with Smith at Richmond in March 2024. His teams have collected 65 top-five finishes, 132 top-10 finishes, and 13 pole positions under his leadership.
- JGR AT TEXAS: Joe Gibbs Racing has 17 Xfinity Series victories in 116 combined starts at Texas Motor Speedway. Kyle Busch, Erik Jones, Christopher Bell, Harrison Burton, and John Hunter Nemechek have all taken a JGR Toyota to victory lane in the lone star state. To go along with the wins, JGR has scored 46 top-fives, 74 top-10s, ten poles, and an impressive average finish of 11.5 since making their first start at the track in 1998.
- FOLLOW ALONG: Follow along for updates and a behind-the-scenes look at Smith’s 2024 NXS Season.
Twitter: @CSmith_Racing I Facebook: Chandler Smith I Instagram: @csmith_racing
- RACE INFO: The Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 is scheduled for 1:30 PM EST on Saturday, April 13. Coverage of the race will be on Fox Sports 1, PRN, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio and available to stream on the FOX Sports app.
From the Driver’s Seat:
Chandler Smith: “Last weekend was a total team effort to get that third-place finish. Super thankful to everyone at JGR for getting that GR Supra put back together. Looking ahead to this week, I’m excited to see what we can get done in Texas. JGR was good at the track last year and I feel pretty comfortable there so I think we’ve got a good chance at going to Victory Lane with a little extra bonus from the Dash4Cash.”
Smith’s Career NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats at Texas Motor Speedway:
| Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | Poles | Laps Led | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 | 4.0 |
Smith’s 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats:
| Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | Poles | Laps Led | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish |
| 7 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 242 | 11.4 | 3.3 |
Smith’s Career NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats:
| Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | Poles | Laps Led | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish |
| 43 | 3 | 14 | 21 | 3 | 560 | 10.4 | 14.0 |
JGR PR
