If you had told me three years ago that Chandler Smith would be back in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, I would not have believed you.
Smith returns to the Truck Series for a third full-time year after spending two full-time seasons in the Xfinity Series. Both of those seasons produced a combined three wins and top 10 finishes in the point standings both seasons.
Both seasons, his name had been floated around for open rides in the Cup Series.
After leaving Toyota in 2023 because no Xfinity rides would open up for him, Smith joined Kaulig Racing and Chevrolet for a full Xfinity season. That season, AJ Allmendinger, a full-time Cup driver, struggled more than anticipated that year, and it was announced that he would return to the Xfinity Series full-time.
Additionally, Justin Haley announced he would be leaving the team for Rick Ware Racing.
With both full-time rides in the Cup Series available, it appeared that both full-time Xfinity drivers — Smith and Daniel Hemric — would be shoo-ins for the seats. Smith was especially expected to get a Cup Series chance, given he made three Cup starts with Kaulig in 2023 and finished inside the top 20 in all of them.
While Hemric did get the call to go Cup racing, replacing Haley in the No. 31, Smith got no such call, despite outperforming Hemric in the 2023 Xfinity season aside from the final standings (Hemric finished eighth and Smith ninth). With no Cup ride at his own team, and most other rides with Chevrolet filled, Smith left the team and returned to Toyota, this time driving for Joe Gibbs Racing in Xfinity.
Coincidentally, 2024 marked the final season for Cup Series legend Martin Truex Jr. The 2017 champion was leaving behind a fast ride at JGR in the No. 19, and of the two JGR full-time drivers in Xfinity — Smith and Sheldon Creed — it was clear that Smith was the most Cup ready. His experience and resume supported bringing in another young gun to support Christopher Bell and Ty Gibbs, along with veteran Denny Hamlin.
Surely, a second chance at earning a Cup ride came about, right? Unfortunately not.
In late 2024, a bombshell report came out — and later became reality — that Chase Briscoe would jump ship from the shuttering Stewart-Haas Racing and Ford to join JGR and Toyota.
Smith once again was left without a Cup ride, and it was clear that he was on his way out of JGR’s Xfinity program as well. This was accentuated by the fact that Smith gave an interview late in 2024 stating that the likelihood of him leaving racing altogether and going back to work for his father’s construction company was higher than ever because he did not have a ride lined up.
Fortunately, an unlikely savior came along in the offseason from the Truck Series.
Having only run a second truck once before (which went to victory lane), Front Row Motorsports decided that Smith’s talents (and sponsorship money) were enough to start a second full-time team to complement 2024 Rookie of the Year Layne Riggs.
Originally slated to drive the No. 34, Smith and Riggs switched numbers for 2025, and now Smith drives the No. 38. In his first two races, he’s earned sixth- and fifth-place finishes, respectfully, while also tallying up the most laps led in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway. He’s been in the running late and has shown that FRM’s expansion has worked out so far.
He and Riggs have worked together well so far and have chemistry, which will hopefully help elevate both in performance in 2025.
For Smith, it’s a brand-new opportunity to prove himself. It’s unfortunate that he’s back in the Truck Series when he arguably ought to have had more offers for Cup Series rides.
But if there’s anything folks know about Smith, it’s that he’s a fiery competitor and will still attack 2025 no different than any other season. He will continue to be a front runner with FRM and will likely find himself in victory lane once, if not multiple times.
The problem that lies before Smith is that Ford has a nearly-nonexistent pipeline for advancement up the NASCAR ladder. If Smith wants to leave the Truck Series, he has to likely leave FRM and Ford altogether. Not only does Ford have slim pickings for rides, but FRM’s three Cup rides are all filled as well, and likely for the foreseeable future.
However, the easiest way to get more offers from other teams in higher series is to win. He’s exceptionally good on the short tracks, with Truck and Xfinity wins at Phoenix Raceway and Richmond Raceway. Additionally, in the Truck Series, he has wins at Bristol Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Pocono Raceway.
However, he also has been close to winning at several racetracks in both series that makes him a threat to win at almost any venue. He most certainly is able to assert himself as a championship threat, and that would be the ultimate way to put teams on notices that he should be the one whose service they should call upon in need of a driver.
However, with the scare he had at the end of last season of potentially being left out of the sport entirely, Smith does need to be careful. While he should absolutely go for wins and championships, he needs to be mindful of where he could end up if he’s too aggressive and doesn’t have a season (or seasons, depending on how long he stays with FRM) that lives up to expectations.
The resilience that Smith has showed is remarkable, and he has a new opportunity to prove himself in 2025 that even he was concerned he wouldn’t get.
Show them what you got, kid.
Truckin’ Tidbits
- Hendrick Motorsports Cup teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron will contest a combined three races with Spire Motorsports, both driving the No. 07. The three races are back-to-back-to-back, consisting of Homestead-Miami Speedway (Larson), Martinsville Speedway (Byron) and Bristol Motor Speedway (Larson).
- Speaking of Briscoe and JGR, the team won its appeal of the penalty handed down to them after Daytona, where they were originally stripped of 100 points and 10 playoff points, among other penalties. That news fell especially hard on Henderson Motorsports, who was DQ’d after winning the Truck opener at the same track, and had its appeal denied despite appearing to have a much stronger case. So a question that NASCAR needs to answer is … what gives? Why was Parker Kligerman’s win stripped and appeal denied and not Briscoe, whose team allegedly modified a single source part, a higher offense than slightly low ride heights?
Anthony Damcott joined Frontstretch in March 2022. Currently, he is an editor and co-authors Fire on Fridays (Fridays); he is also the primary Truck Series reporter/writer and serves as an at-track reporter, among many other duties he takes on for the site. A proud West Virginia Wesleyan College alum from Akron, Ohio, Anthony is now a grad student. He is a theatre actor and fight-choreographer-in-training in his free time.
You can keep up with Anthony by following @AnthonyDamcott on X.