Chandler Smith: Driver, No. 18 Charge Me Toyota
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Overview:
Event: Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt, Race 6 of 23, 150 Laps –40/50/60; 75 Miles
Location: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (half-mile dirt oval)
Date/Broadcast: April 16, 2022, at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
Mr. Smith Goes Dirt Racing:
Chandler Smith will debut a brand new primary sponsor, Charge Me, for the Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday. Charge Me was founded on the principle that the electric vehicle (EV) revolution will require robust infrastructure support at all levels. To encourage this transition towards a clean energy future, Charge Me is launching a diverse product range of EV charging solutions. Charge Me has developed off-grid multi-use portable charging systems for both EV roadside assistance as well as stationary on-site power generation. In addition to Saturday’s race at Bristol, Charge Me will adorn Smith’s No. 18 TRD Pro for four more races: Kansas Speedway in Kansas City (May 14), Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway (June 18), Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (July 23) and Richmond (Va.) Raceway (Aug. 13).
Smith has had a strong start to 2022, finishing inside the top 10 in each of the last four events including his victory earlier in the year at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway. The 19-year-old driver sits second in the regular season point standings, just four tallies behind reigning series champion Ben Rhodes. Through the first five events of the season Smith leads Truck Series regulars in average starting position (4.6), average running position (7.142) and average finish (7.4) while ranking second in driver rating (107.5).
The Toyota Racing Development product had mixed results in two starts on dirt last season. At Bristol, he drove from 21st to 11th early in the race, but after multiple incidents was relegated to a 34th-place finish. At Knoxville, Smith was out front for 72 laps late in the race, but as a demolition derby broke out in the closing laps and into overtime, he was unable to hold off Austin Hill and finished second.
KBM has won three of the nine events that the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has held at dirt tracks. Bubba Wallace (2014) and Christopher Bell (2015) were victorious at famed Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, while Martin Truex Jr. was triumphant in last year’s inaugural race on the dirt at Bristol.
The Tundra TRD Pro that Smith will get behind the wheel of on Saturday, KBM-52, is the same chassis that he picked up his first career Truck Series victory with on the concrete at Bristol last September.
The Georgia driver earned NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year honors in 2021 and finished eighth in the championship standings after producing two victories, one pole, 213 laps led, six top-five and nine top-10 finishes in his first full-time season. He earned his first career Truck Series victory at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in September and in the series finale at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway earned his first career pole and swept all three stages en route to his second victory.
Veteran crew chief Danny Stockman will once again call the shots for Smith and the No. 18 team in 2022. Stockman’s drivers have produced six victories at KBM across his first two seasons, including two with Smith behind the wheel in 2021. The veteran crew chief captured a Truck Series championship with Austin Dillon in 2011 and also won an Xfinity Series championship with Dillon in 2013. Stockman’s drivers have collected two top-five finishes racing on dirt tracks in the Truck Series, with his best result Smith’s runner-up finish at Knoxville last year.
Safelite, the nation’s largest provider of vehicle glass repair, replacement and recalibration services will serve as an associate sponsor on the bedtop of Smith’s Toyota this week and for 16 races as a primary sponsor throughout the 2022 season.
Chandler Smith, Driver Q&A:
Are you looking forward to going back race on dirt at Bristol?
“We had a lot of speed at the Bristol dirt race last year but got taken out early on and didn’t get to showcase what we were made of. This is going to be the first race for Charge Me being the primary sponsor of the truck. It’s going to be really exciting for them to be on my truck for Bristol dirt as it’s a good track for myself.”
What’s been the key to having four straight top-10 finishes?
“It’s being consistent and staying out of trouble. Danny (Stockman, crew chief) and everybody at KBM has been bringing me really fast Tundras every single weekend to work with. It’s just a matter of being at the right place at the right time and staying out of trouble.”
Are you excited to have Charge Me as a new primary sponsor this week?
“We have a few races lined up with them this year – it’s really exciting. They are a really great company and have a lot of good things coming as a company and getting involved in the NASCAR world. I’m really excited to be a little part of their journey.”
Chandler Smith Career Highlights:
- Across 43 career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts has recorded three wins, 362 laps led, 17 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 14.0.
- Earned NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year honors in 2021 and finished eighth in the championship standings after producing two victories, one pole, 213 laps led, six top-five and nine top-10 finishes in his first full-time season. He earned his first career Truck Series victory at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in September and in the series finale at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway earned his first career pole and swept all three stages en route to his second victory.
- Led 55 laps and finished eighth in his Camping World Truck Series debut at Iowa Speedway in July of 2019. Drove a limited schedule for KBM in 2019 (four races) and 2020 (12 races), before going full-time in 2021.
- Has collected nine wins, 10 poles, 1783 laps led, 22 top-five and 29 top-10 finishes en route to an average finish of 5.4 across 34 career ARCA Menards Series starts.
- Has numerous Super Late Model victories across his career, including two marquee wins: the Snowball Derby at 5 Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla. (2021) and SpeedFest at Watermelon Capital Speedway in Cordele, Georgia (2018). Will compete in several Super Late Model events around his Truck Series schedule in 2022.
Chandler Smith’s No. 18 Charge Me Tundra:
KBM-52: The No. 18 Charge Me team will unload KBM-52 for Saturday’s race at the Bristol Dirt Track. It is the same Toyota that Smith picked up his first career Truck Series victory with last September on the concrete track at Bristol. The win was the first for KBM-52 across its 12 career starts, prior to that the best result for that chassis was a runner-up finish with Kyle Busch in its debut at Kansas Speedway in 2018.
KBM-52 Performance Profile
KBM Notes of Interest:
- KBM drivers has scored three wins, one pole, 478 laps led, eight top-five and 15 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 12.7 across 26 career starts on dirt tracks. Martin Truex Jr. won the inaugural race on the dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2021, while Bubba Wallace (2014) and Christopher Bell (2015) each scored victories at Eldora Speedway.
- KBM holds the Camping World Truck Series records for most career wins (92) and most wins in a single season (14 in 2014). With his victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway Corey Heim became the 18th different driver to win a Truck Series event for KBM. In addition to collecting a series-record seven Owner’s Championships, the organization has produced two championship-winning drivers: Erik Jones (2015) and Christopher Bell (2017).
- The No. 18, the number which was on the first Tundra that went to victory lane for KBM in 2010, has 24 career victories.
