Chandler Smith rings alarm bell on NASCAR career ahead of elimination race at Martinsville

Chandler Smith has one more shot to make the Championship 4 in Phoenix. If not, he could be working construction in 2025 instead of racing. The NASCAR driver rang the alarm bell on just how dire his career prospects are.

Five wins in the Craftsman Truck Series, three wins in the Xfinity Series. 20 top-10 finishes in 40 races. So, how is it that Chandler Smith does not have a ride for the 2025 NASCAR season?

Smith started on the pole today but finished P13. It was his first finish worse than P5 since Darlington. Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports asked the JGR driver about his thoughts heading into Martinsville as Austin Hill celebrated his win.

“Well, I don’t have a ride next year, Bob. I could be working for my dad’s construction business and I could be hanging it up at the end of this year,” Smith told Pockrass. “So, that being said, all craps will not be given at Martinsville. And we were really fast there in the spring, just don’t need to wreck in practice so I can make my life a little easier not having to drive from the back, hopefully. If it’s meant to be, it’ll happen. If not, we still had an amazing season this year, and super, super grateful for the opportunity that I had this year with everybody that I was able to work with at Joe Gibbs Racing.”

When asked about rumors he is talking to multiple teams, Chandler Smith shot that down as well. Sounds like his career might be taking a hiatus after this season.

“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…”

It is late in the year to land a ride. However, it is a failure of the system that a driver like Chandler Smith is going to potentially go without a ride in 2025. Every driver and team out there busts their butts and works hard, but that doesn’t make them the most talented.

While it is disappointing, this is the reality of motorsports. Not just NASCAR. Funding is paramount. Racecars don’t go without money. Smith is a young 22-year-old with a wife and two kids, it just would not be right if he was not in one of the three national series in 2025.

If we are just talking about the Joe Gibbs Racing lineup, you could argue it is downgrading next year in terms of talent. Sheldon Creed and Chandler Smith are going to be swapped out. Instead, JGR will have William Sawalich and Taylor Gray full-time.

Sawalich is an up-and-comer. He could turn out to be the real deal. But Creed and Smith have multiple wins in the Truck Series. Smith has wins in Xfinity. They both have multiple pole awards in Xfinity. Next year it will be an 18-year-old rookie and an unproven Taylor Gray behind the wheel.

Do you think Chandler Smith can earn his walk-off win at Martinsville? Or will he be left out of the Championship 4 and a job in 2025?

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