BRISTOL, Tenn: Sammy Smith finished 15th in Friday night’s Food City 300 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, and even though the finish wasn’t particularly the result, he or his No. 8 JR Motorsports team were looking for, they maintained a healthy enough points gap to claim the final spot in the regular season standings to sneak into the Xfinity Series Playoffs.
Smith departed Joe Gibbs Racing for JR Motorsports during the off-season and while the results have been hit or miss, the No. 8 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet has shown at times the possibilities of contending for race wins – but a finish like the team endured on Friday night won’t cut it in the Playoffs.
Playing it safe after a disappointing 21st-place qualifying, the Johnston, Iowa native was able to make gains throughout the race and even though his Playoff rival Ryan Sieg posted an eighth-place finish, Smith’s 16th top-15 finish of the season was enough to give him a 36-point advantage over the RSS Racing driver to take the 12th and final position in the Xfinity Series Playoff standings.
Smith wasn’t thrilled about his Bristol performance but was still thankful for the opportunity to contend for a championship with his No. 8 JR Motorsports team.
“Yeah, it’s been a real grind the last couple of months,” said Smith after the race. “Just kind of struggled, here and there we’ve it a couple of times, but (it) was one of those nights again, just really struggled. Just have to dig deep and figure something out.
“It’s cool to make the Playoffs. Just thanks to my sponsors, Pilot Flying J, TMC, Allstate Peterbilt Group, Golden Harvest, Renda Group for sticking with us. We just have to keep getting better.”
The six-race run to the Championship 4 at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway in November begins with the opening round of the Xfinity Series Playoffs next weekend at Kansas Speedway, followed by a wildcard race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on October 5 – followed by the final road course race of the season at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway ROVAL on October 12,
Smith welcomes the opportunity for a quick reset and does not worry about whether or not his team will be part of the Playoff conversation. However, he also knows that his team, led by crew chief Phillip Bell, has to not only mount as many points as possible but also deliver strong finishes to even enter the Championship 4 chat.
“You know, it’s kinda like a reset, but at the same time, we just gotta run better, I think that’s really the end goal and if we are going to continue to make it to Phoenix we gotta stride to make some bigger strides, so hopefully we can do that and make it through the next couple rounds.”
Follow Chris Knight on X (Twitter) @Knighter01 or email at [email protected].
