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Chandler Smith gets turned, creates massive pileup wreck during Xfinity Series race at Sonoma

JHby:Jonathan Howard•06/08/24•

Jondean25

Chandler Smith Sonoma pileup
Screenshot credit: NASCAR on FOX via X.com

We officially had the Big One at Sonoma. Chandler Smith got tagged, turned around, and then the track became a parking lot. Ty Gibbs, who led 26 laps in the NASCAR race and won Stage 2 was taken out of the race due to the incident.

The leaders got away and clear of it all. The same could not be said for the folks who were outside of the first nine cars on the track. Everyone from 10 on back was at least somewhat involved in this incident. Eventually, the traffic stopped.

Chandler Smith goes around and then the whole field is wadded up. This one will take time to clean up.

This wreck is going to have major consequences on the finish. Ty Gibbs is just one of the drivers knocked out of the race as a result of this wreck. Jeb Burton, Josh Williams, and Brandon Jones were all DNFs after the wreck.

It was a clean, green race until this point. Sometimes when you go to restart this late in a race like Sonoma, drivers get antsy. A few too many got antsy and this is the result. A bunch of wrecked race cars.

Chandler Smith was able to make repairs and keep going. He would later spin out again after the restart. The race is coming to an end and there are fewer opportunities to make moves. Drivers are taking as much as they can and not thinking too much about giving.

Chandler Smith needs to bounce back

As far as things go for Chandler Smith, he has two wins on the season, but has faltered lately. Since that win at Richmond, he has not been nearly as consistent. In the first seven races of the season, Smith’s worst finish was P8.

Ever since that Martinsville race where he was P3, Smith has finishes of P15, P25, P7, P12, P18, and P35 (DNF). Today could be a solid finish overall, but it isn’t going to be up to snuff for Smith and this 81 team.

Meanwhile, it has been the Shane van Gisbergen show once again. For the second week in a row, SVG has been the story of the Xfinity Series. When he is on a road course, he can show off his true talents and he did it in a big way today.

While Chandler Smith and others were messed up by the massive wreck, they are going to be just fine. The real work starts at Iowa next week and then New Hampshire after that. Smith is very good on those short tracks and he will be in position to get back to Victory Lane.