Sammy Smith wins Xfinity Series race at Talladega, advances to Round of 8
For the second time in his career and first time with JR Motorsports, Sammy Smith wins in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He gets the job done at Talladega in overtime and punches his ticket to the Round of 8.
Sammy Smith is a driver who has not performed to standards. He is seen as a potential star in NASCAR one day. But the results have not shown on the stat sheet.
Today, at Talladega, with a must-win situation to make the Round of 8 – Smith did everything he had to do. He lived up to the expectations that have been laid on him. And hey, he’s only 20 years old.
At times when these young drivers have a lot of expectations put on them, it’s easy to forget how young they are. Sammy Smith is talented. He is a two-time ARCA East Series champion. He never ran a full-time season of ARCA in the national series. Smith also skipped the Truck Series.
Making the move from Joe Gibbs Racing to JR Motorsports was not seen as the best move. Especially after a single full-time year in the Xfinity Series. However, it appears that Smith knew what he was doing.
Last season, he finished 6th overall on the season. This year, he has a chance to do that again and potentially make the Championship 4. He has reduced mistakes this season and even though this is his first win of the year, Sammy Smith has shown improvement.
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Sammy Smith has great chance at Championship 4
Right now, Sammy Smith could go on and focus on the Round of 8. Yes, the Roval is great and everyone should be focused on having a good race there. But if Smith and his team don’t take a peak at Las Vegas, Homestead, and/or Martinsville – then they’re doing themselves a disservice.
Smith won the pole awards at Martinsville and Phoenix last season to close the year out. Of course, his first career win was at Phoenix. If he makes the Championship 4, he will definitely be a threat to win the race and the championship. He has never finished outside of the top-10 at Phoenix in the Xfinity Series.
Chandler Smith is almost locked in on points after this race, +57 to the cutline. Austin Hill, Cole Custer, and Sheldon Creed are all 25-29 points above the line. Then you start getting into the fragile territory. Jesse Love, Riley Herbst, and Sam Mayer are all in that 10-15 point range, very vulnerable at the Roval.
Sammy Smith avoided the big wrecks, of which there were a few. A number of playoff drivers were caught up in early incidents that cost them points. The Roval, with a newly reconfigured track to increase speed and difficulty, will be a great elimination race.