“I could've been more selfish”- Chandler Smith disappointed with Toyota teammate Corey Heim

Chandler Smith was not happy with how his teammate, Corey Heim, pushed Richard Childress Racing's Austin Hill to win Saturday's Xfinity Series race; the Focused Health 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. While speaking with reporter Kim Coon, Smith, who drives the No. 81 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, felt that he could have been more selfish.

Smith is currently in his maiden year driving for JGR. Previously, the Talking Rock, Georgia native used to drive for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. He won five races for the former North Carolina-based Truck Series outfit and reached Championship 4 on two occasions (2022, 2023). Smith has two Xfinity wins this year at Phoenix and Richmond.

Hill led the race just once for 12 laps. However, when Heim pushed Hill's No. 21 Bennett Chevy ahead of the front row following the final restart, the 30-year-old speedster capitalized on it and never looked back. However, Hill was surprised that Heim pushed him instead of a teammate.

"Very surprised (Heim) pushed me there, and didn't go with a Toyota," Hill said during a post-race interview.

Speaking about the same, Smith said:

"I'm kind of speechless, honestly. There's a lot of different things that I could have done. I could have been more selfish, and when I got cleared, went to the bottom and covered that and controlled the race for sure. But I was trying to be a good teammate, and it didn't pay off for me today, as usual."

"We're Toyota teammates, and I got clear out of the restart zone and could have went bottom and hung him up top to be the leader, the top lane," Smith continued. "And I didn't. I stayed up top with my Toyota teammate and ultimately gave up the lead doing that. Yeah, I expected my Toyota teammate to come with me, and that didn't happen. And it is what it is."

It was Austin Hill's fourth Xfinity Series victory over the past three seasons. With 795 points to his name, Hill sits just below Smith, who is third in the Xfinity Series standings.

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Chandler Smith reveals how he handles pressure

Driving for one of the winningest teams in NASCAR comes with expectations from the outside. However, it is the first year for Chandler Smith driving a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. How does Smith deal with the pressure that he apparently shoulders?

"I honestly don’t pay attention to it," Smith told Jeff Gluck of The Athletic during an interview in July. "At (Kyle Busch Motorsports), I felt the pressure of 'Oh, Kyle is your boss," and I felt the expectations. Then I got married during that time period and also had our first-born child toward the end of my career with KBM. Now I have two kids and I’ve matured a lot as an individual... as a professional race car driver, but also as a person."

Smith believes that he can compete for the championship and win races. However, he feels that putting a number only brings added pressure and jeopardizes one's chances of winning races.

"I show up at the racetrack with my wife and kids every weekend and have a blast. I know this is a blessing from God that I can travel all around the country and drive fast cars for a living and carry my wife and kids with me and see all these crazy places. So obviously there’s times when I get nervous, but I don’t necessarily feel the pressure anymore because I wouldn’t be able to enjoy these things," he added.

Only two races remain till the NASCAR Xfinity Series kicks off its Round of 12 opener at Kansas Speedway on September 28. Smith's next race is at Watkins Glen International on September 14 (Saturday), followed by the regular season finale at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 20.