Chandler Smith will enter the 2025 Daytona 500 for Garage 66, the team announced Jan. 21.
Should he qualify, Smith’s start in the No. 66 will mark his first Daytona 500 start after previously attempting to make the race in 2023.
QuickTie will sponsor the effort.
“I’m very excited for the opportunity to race our way into the Daytona 500 with Garage 66,” Smith said in a team release. “Being in The Great American Race is such an honor, and I can’t thank QuickTie and [Garage 66 owner] Carl Long enough for helping to put this all together.”
Smith replaces Mike Wallace, who was originally announced for the No. 66 but was ruled ineligible to compete by NASCAR.
“I am super pleased to have Chandler in our seat,” Long added. “He has friends behind the wheel of the other cars. At Daytona [International Speedway], we need all the friends we can find to help race our way into the show.”
Smith is the second driver announced to Garage 66’s lineup for 2025; Garrett Smithley will drive the No. 66 in the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium.
Smith competed in three NASCAR Cup Series races in 2023 for Kaulig Racing, earning a best finish of 11th at Talladega Superspeedway.
He’ll run full time in 2025 in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Front Row Motorsports.
Rutherford is the managing editor of Frontstretch, a position he gained in 2015 after serving on the editing staff for two years. At his day job, he's a journalist covering music and rock charts at Billboard. He lives in New York City, but his heart is in Ohio -- you know, like that Hawthorne Heights song.