No. 81 QuickTie Toyota GR Supra News and Notes:
- SMITH AT HOMESTEAD: Chandler Smith has three starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Two of those starts have been in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS), with a best finish of seventh in 2022. Smith earned a tenth-place finish in his lone NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series start at the south-Florida track.
- NXS PLAYOFFS: After the first race in the Round of 8, Smith sits fourth in the NXS driver’s playoffs standings – eight points above the cutline. In the owners standings, Smith is fifth – four points behind JGR’s No. 20 team.
- TOP-FIVE STREAK: Smith has posted seven consecutive top-five finishes dating back to the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on September 7. While he has not visited victory lane over that stretch, he has proven to be successful on a variety of tracks since Atlanta.
- 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 74 top-five finishes, 145 top-10 finishes, and 15 pole positions under his leadership.
- JGR AT HOMESTEAD: Joe Gibbs Racing has earned five Xfinity Series wins at Homestead-Miami Speedway. In 65 combined starts at the 1.5-mile track, the organization has recorded 21 top-five finishes, 42 top-10s, five pole awards, and 789 laps led. Harrison Burton, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, and Daniel Suárez have all driven JGR Toyotas to victory lane at Homestead.
- 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: Coverage of this weekend’s Xfinity Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway is scheduled for Saturday, October 26, at 4 p.m. ET on The CW, MRN Radio, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
From the Driver’s Seat:
Chandler Smith: “It’s better to be ahead than behind in the playoffs, but I’m still not comfortable where we are heading into this week. We’d like to come out of Homestead with a bigger gap on the cutline, so hopefully we can get a good points day on Saturday. We’ve been working on this track and our car a lot in the simulator so hoping that and some fine-tuning in practice pay off.”
Smith’s Career NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats at Homestead-Miami Speedway:
Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | Poles | Laps Led | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish |
2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10.5 | 20.5 |
Smith’s 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats:
Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | Poles | Laps Led | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish |
30 | 2 | 15 | 20 | 2 | 601 | 7.0 | 10.6 |
Smith’s Career NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats:
Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | Poles | Laps Led | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish |
66 | 3 | 23 | 34 | 5 | 919 | 8.7 | 13.6 |
JGR PR