RICHMOND, Va.: Garrett Smithley has certainly been in the headlines the last five days.
The full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series driver at JD Motorsports with Gary Keller found himself under scrutiny following the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway from Kyle Busch, but during Friday’s Xfinity Series practice at Richmond (Va.) Raceway, the Peachtree, Ga. native was causing waves on a different front.
Smithley’s No. 0 Trophy Tractor Chevrolet Camaro seventh fastest overall during the 80-minute session mixed in with Playoff contenders Justin Allgaier, Justin Haley, Austin Cindric, Brandon Jones, Michael Annett and John Hunter Nemechek to name a few.
“Feels good to practice inside the top-10,” Smithley told CATCHFENCE.com. “I know there’s a bigger picture for the weekend, but it’s a great start and our JDM boys should be proud.
“Super happy for our sponsors, Trophy Tractor and Morooka America. Hopefully, we can keep speed for the race.”
And while Smithley is hoping his speed carries over to Friday night’s Go Bowling 250, the 27-year-old will take all the positive attention he can receive.
Smithley faced backlash from Cup Playoff contender Busch after the Joe Gibbs Racing driver ran into the back of Smithley’s Cup car in the closing laps of the South Point 400. Busch damaged his car in the exchange and hindered his finish in the opening Cup Playoff event.
“I was told he was going to go high,” Busch said in a postrace interview with Parker Kligerman on NBCSN. “I thought he was going to go high. He went middle because I thought he was going to go high. Killed our day. I don’t know. Should have run fourth probably. Instead 19th.
Smithley was making his 12th start in the Cup Series for Rick Ware Racing. Busch questioned his credentials for running in NASCAR’s premier series.
“We’re at the top echelon of motorsports, and we’ve got guys who have never won Late Model races running on the racetrack,” Busch added. “It’s pathetic. They don’t know where to go. What else do you do?”
Smithley, a driver who often has gotten the most out of his underfunded equipment quickly responded, “He’s never been in the position we’ve been in, so he doesn’t know how that goes. That’s the way I see it.”
Putting Las Vegas behind him, Smithley is determined to focus forward and do what he can to perform competitively, including in tonight’s race.
“I feel pretty good about tonight and the rest of the year for that fact,” Smithley added. “We ran top-20 here in the spring, so as long as we have a good long run, we should have a solid day and then can move on to the next one.”
With seven races left in the season, Smithley has finished a season-high 12th at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway and sits 18th in the championship standings. In the spring race at Richmond,
Smithley finished 19th after starting 20th.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
