NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Chandler Smith recently competed in the Sober or Slammer 200 and was eliminated from the race early. Later, during a post-race interview, Smith opened up about his DNF in the first playoff race of the 2025 season.The #38 Ford driver had a good qualifying session and began the race at P2. He completed the lap of Darlington Raceway with a best lap time of 29.33 and a top speed of 167.66 mph. Meanwhile, his Front Row Motorsports teammate, Layne Riggs, took the pole position with a 0.01-second lead over Smith.Despite having a decent start and competing for the lead, Chandler Smith ended his day early in stage one. He went straight into the safer barriers and had his right-front tire go down. This resulted in a DNF in the first playoff race, affecting his chances in the championship run. Recalling his incident, the FRM driver took responsibility for the crash and stated (via Matt Weaver on X):"I think our pace in our trucks and our trucks here recently have been really good. Everybody at Front Row Motorsports has been giving me a truck capable of going out there and winning, but I just made a mistake on my end today. I just got a little too greedy trying to run the fence a little bit too hard. We’re in steel-bodied race cars, and when you get into it that hard, it just suckers you in, and you cut a tire, and you’re done for the day."Chandler Smith wrapped up the 147-lap race in P30, completing only 14 laps and earning only eight points. Additionally, he has only two races at Bristol and New Hampshire to pave his way to the round of eight and stay in the championship race.When Chandler Smith got candid about not getting a full-time seat in the 2025 seasonEarlier in 2024, Chandler Smith competed in the Xfinity Series for Joe Gibbs Racing. However, no announcement was made confirming the driver's future with the team for the next season.In October 2024, Smith spoke candidly about the situation. He ended all the speculation, telling the media that the teams require a driver with a "big pocketbook." He added:"It’s not really any seats left open. The only seats let open you gotta bring a big, big pocketbook with you, and I don’t have a big pocketbook. So..."Chandler Smith has competed in five Cup Series events, and two of them resulted in a DNQ for the driver. His career-best finish came during the Talladega Superspeedway race, where he nearly finished among the top ten drivers but missed his chance by one spot. Additionally, he made two Daytona 500 starts with Kaulig Racing and Garage 66, resulting in DNQs both times.However, the #38 Ford driver also competed in the Xfinity Series. Smith spent two full-time seasons in the series with Kaulig Racing in 2023 and Joe Gibbs Racing in 2024, respectively. Smith wrapped up the 2023 season in P9 and the next in P5.Currently, Chandler Smith ranks ninth in the Truck Series with 2027 points to his credit. He has secured two wins, 13 top-ten finishes, and four top-five finishes. Additionally, he sits two points below the cutoff line and needs to cover the gap to continue his spot in the playoffs.