Bayley Currey is being replaced by Garrett Smithley at JD Motorsports, JDM announced March 14.
Smithley will drive the team’s No. 4 in the rest of the NASCAR Xfinity Series season, beginning with the next race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 18.
TobyChristie.com first reported the news.
Currey had just began his second full-time season with the team, but hasn’t been able to finish higher than 28th (at both Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Phoenix Raceway). He will continue his part-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series stint with Niece Motorsports.
“It’s great to have Garrett back,” team owner Johnny Davis said in a team release. “He’s easy to work with, has the talent to get the most out of our race cars and knows when to go and when to be patient. We’re excited to pick up where we left off with him, preparing fast, reliable cars to race.”
Smithley, meanwhile, has jumped between various rides to begin the season. He was originally announced as the full-time driver of the No. 78 for BJ McLeod Motorsports, but was moved to the No. 99 when Anthony Alfredo joined the team.
After he failed to qualify for the first two races of the season, he finished a dismal 36th at Las Vegas before announcing via Twitter that he would be joining DGM Racing for Phoenix, driving the No. 91.
Smithley now returns to JD Motorsports, the team he drove for on a full-time basis from 2016-2019.
About the author
Anthony Damcott joined Frontstretch in March 2022. He co-authors Only Yesterday (Wednesdays) and Fire on Fridays (Fridays); he is also the site's primary Truck Series reporter and writer, and contributes to SRX coverage, too. A proud West Virginia Wesleyan College alum from Akron, Ohio, Anthony is currently pursuing his master of journalism at Temple University. He is a theatre actor and fight choreographer-in-training outside of Frontstretch. He is a loyal fan of the Cincinnati Reds and Carolina Panthers, still hopeful for a championship at some point in his lifetime.
You can keep up with Anthony by following @AnthonyDamcott on Twitter.
Joy joined Frontstretch in 2019 as a NASCAR DraftKings writer, expanding to news and iRacing coverage in 2020. She's currently an assistant editor while continuing to write daily fantasy and news articles. A California native, Joy was raised as a motorsports fan and started watching NASCAR extensively in 2001. She earned her B.A. degree in Liberal Studies at California State University Bakersfield in 2010.
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