Chandler Smith loses brakes and intentionally wrecks himself at Road America

During the Henry 180, Chandler Smith found himself without brakes and with a ton of speed. So, he wrecked himself on purpose. The young NASCAR driver showed he has more knowledge than his years let on. Faced with wrecking head-on into a wall with no brakes or tearing up his car trying to slow down, he chose the latter.

Chandler Smith reacted quickly when his brake rotor exploded down a straightaway heading into Turn 1. The only way to avoid a catastrophic hit was to ride the wall and peel off the side of his car and then head for the gravel on the side of the track.

Road courses can be scary at times. It isn’t just a Saturday afternoon drive out there. Smart thinking and quick reaction time helped Smith avoid an even worse wreck in this race.

Chandler Smith lost his brakes and had to use the wall to slow the car going down the straight.

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The Kaulig Racing driver had a tough decision to make. This track is unique with that huge front stretch. These cars pick up speed, and a lot of it before braking hard into Turn 1. You get a lot of heat and then a long straight that cools the brakes down, they can blow up that way.

This is an issue we saw in the Cup Series with Gateway. Now, it will be interesting to see if Road America takes more brakes. The repave has made the track faster and maybe it leads to more wear and tear on those rotors.

Chandler Smith walked away from the car on his own power after the incident.

Chandler Smith makes tough decision

Kaulig Racing is going to have to hope and pray that the brake rotors on their No. 10 Chevy holds up. AJ Allmendinger is racing this Xfinity Series race today and still racing on Sunday at Richmond as he tries to make the playoffs. Derek Kraus qualified for Allmendinger, but he will start at the rear of the field after the driver swap.

Allmendinger has a good car and a chance to win this race. He will have to battle with Justin Allgaier and Col Custer to the end of this race. John Hunter Nemechek could also get involved in this one.

Chandler Smith was forced into a tough decision. Despite his young age, he just turned 21, Smith made a brave and bold decision to slow his car down. That was not an easy hit to take regardless, but much better than going more than 170 MPH into a wall head-on.

Tough day for Smith, but he’ll be there to race another day.