Who is Dale Jr.’s team driver Sammy Smith? NASCAR driver’s profile explored

Dale Earnhardt Jr. fields promising young talents through JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. One of them is Sammy Smith, who is in his second year with the team and drives the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro SS.

Smith is a 20-year-old professional stock car racing driver from Johnston, Iowa. He began racing in Legend Cars at age 10 and won 31 races in three years. By 2019, the driver had climbed the ranks in Late Model racing and became a World Series of Asphalt Pro Late Model Champion at New Smyrna.

Joe Gibbs Racing brought him into the ARCA Menards Series in 2021, and the young driver didn't disappoint. He won multiple races from the get-go and secured a back-to-back ARCA East championship in 2021 and 2022 (the latter with Kyle Busch Motorsports).

Sammy Smith drove the No. 18 Toyota in the ARCA Menards Series - Source: Imagn

Smith ran his first full-time Xfinity Series schedule with JGR in 2023. He notably won the 2023 United Rentals 200 at Phoenix Raceway, becoming among the youngest series winners at age 18. The same year, he debuted in the Craftsman Truck Series as a substitute driver for Taylor Gray in the No. 17 Tricon Garage Toyota at Daytona.

In 2024, Dale Earnhardt Jr. signed the Iowa native to pilot the No. 8 Chevy. While the young driver amassed seven top-5s and 16 top-10s, he only crossed the finish line in P1 once at Talladega Superspeedway for his second series victory.

Sammy Smith won at Phoenix Raceway in 2023 - Source: Imagn

For the 2025 campaign, Smith has teamed up with young drivers Connor Zilisch (No. 88) and Carson Kvapil (No. 1) at JR Motorsports. They compete alongside veteran NASCAR driver and defending series champion Justin Allgaier (No. 7).

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'We didn't get a lot of help': Sammy Smith on P4 finish at Atlanta

Following a P24 finish in the season-opener at Daytona, Sammy Smith took the checkered flag fourth at Atlanta Motor Speedway, with Austin Hill winning the race. Speaking about the final lap, Smith said he didn't get enough push to improve his position after escaping a multi-car wreck.

The No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro driver shared (via Frontstretch):

"Tried my best to help the line and obviously we didn't get a lot of help there towards the end."

Regardless, Smith thought he had a good race around the 1.5-mile track, saying:

"Overall, good day. Just wish we could have a little better position there at the end."

When asked whether drivers had an answer for race winner Austin Hill, the 20-year-old replied:

"Honestly, no. I mean he was so fast so it would have taken need at least three or four of us to probably get there."

His teammate Allgaier finished second, with Aric Almirola splitting the two JR Motorsports drivers in P3.

The third race of the 2025 season will be held at Circuit of the Americas on Saturday, March 1. The 48-lap road course race will be available on The CW Network at 2:30 p.m. ET.