FRM racer Chandler Smith makes his feelings known on 'hard-fought top-5' at Martinsville 

Chandler smith opened up on a challenging battle to finish in the top five at the Martinsville Speedway on Friday. Driving the No.38 Ford for Front Row Motrosports, Smith previously finished eighth in his last two races at Miami and Las Vegas.

The 22-year-old qualified an impressive fourth for the 200 lap event at the short track and the No.38 driver maintained his place at the front throughout the race, finshing both stage 1 and stage 2 at sixth place.

The race saw ten caution periods for a total of 69 laps and four lead changes. Tricon Garage's Corey Heim dominated the race by winning both stages and leading for 149 laps, before enduring a cut left-rear tire from a contact with Kaden Honeycutt, costing him the lead.

On lap 187, Ty Majeski tagged the left-rear of new race leader Honeycutt, sending them both into a spin towards the outside wall. Consequently, Daniel Hermic took the checkered flag while Smith managed to steer clear of any troubles up ahead and finished fourth.

Talking to the media post-race, the 22-year-old driver said:

"It was definetely a hard-fought top-5 for us today. We were inside the top-five the majority of the day, atleast the top ten and our No.38 Quick Tie Ford F-150 was solid. We were a lot better on the longer run not shorter run and we had those cautions kept falling, unfortunately they didn't fall in our way."

Following a points haul of 26, Chandler Smith ranks third in the standings with 193 points coming from five top-10 finishes. In five starts, he has led a total of 37 laps and recorded an average finish of 6.2.

---

Chandler Smith once claimed his future in NASCAR was uncertain

Despite finishing fifth in the 2024 Xfinity Series standings, Chandler Smith drew no bids for a seat in 2025. This left the then Joe Gibbs driver looking at a possible career away from racing, as he opened up on his frustration during the tail end of the season.

With two races remaining in the 2024 season, Smith secured pole position in Amex Credit Card 300 at Homestead-Miami. However, a pit road incident during green flag conditions saw the 22 year old drop places and finish at thirteenth. Moreover, the result ended his streak of finishing inside the top-ten for eight races.

Reflecting on his future post-race, Smith said:

"For somebody that don’t have a job next year in the industry, I’m probably going to be working for my dad on the construction side, just because of how some things are unfortunately are playing out, I feel like I don’t owe anybody anything going to Martinsville.”

On December 20, 2024, Front Row Motorsports announced their signing of Chandler Smith for their second Ford-150 in the NASCAR Truck Series. His track record in the Truck series stands at an impressive five wins, 24 top-5’s, and 35 top-10’s. In his first race for the team in 2025, Smith finished sixth at the Fresh From Florida 250 while Corey Heim took the top step.