Chandler Smith: Driver, No. 18 Charge Me Toyota
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Overview:
Event: Heart of America 200, Race 8 of 23, 134 Laps –30/30/74; 201 Miles
Location: Kansas Speedway in Kansas City (1.5-mile tri-oval)
Date/Broadcast: May 14, 2022, at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
Mr. Smith Heads to the Heart of America:
Chandler Smith and the No. 18 Charge Me team head to Kansas Speedway for Saturday’s Heart of America 200. Friday night will be Smith’s third start at Kansas in the Truck Series. He finished fifth in last year’s event after finishing 11th in his inaugural start at the at the 1.5-mile venue. The talented teenager has an average finish of 2.5 across two starts on mile-and-a-half tracks in the Truck Series in 2022, with a win at Las Vegas and a fourth-place finish at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway. He combined to lead 56 laps in those two races.
After seven races Smith sits third in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular season point standings, 32 tallies behind reigning series champion Ben Rhodes. Through the first seven events of the season Smith leads Truck Series regulars in average starting position (4.7), ranks second in average finish (9.3) third in average running position (8.324) and fourth in driver rating (100.5) and laps led (56). He has produced one win, three top-five and four top-10 finishes in his sophomore campaign.
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.
In addition to his Truck Series schedule in 2022, Smith is competing in a three-race schedule with Sam Hunt Racing (SHR). Smith finished 38th in his series debut at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway after a mid-race wreck and finished 21st at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway. His final race with SHR will come Oct. 22 at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway.
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 produced one top-five and three top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 9.3 across six Truck Series starts at Kansas. His best result was a fifth-place finish in last year’s race with Smith. In Xfinity Series action, his driver’s have complied three poles, three top-five and four top-five finishes, including runner-up finishes with Austin Dillon (2012) and Daniel Hemric (2018).
Charge Me will serve as the primary sponsor on the Smith’s No. 18 Tundra TRD Pro at Kansas Saturday. Charge Me was founded on the principle that the electric vehicle (EV) revolution will require robust infrastructure support at all levels. 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:
You’ve been strong on mile-and-a-half tracks this year with a win at Las Vegas and a near win at Atlanta. Are you looking forward to Kansas?
“Yeah, for sure. Just like I was telling my crew chief Danny Stockman, Kansas and Vegas are really similar. The lateral load differences, the banking and the actual shape of the track, make them really similar. With that being said, I’m really happy to get my Charge Me Tundra back out to Kansas.”
Is the Kansas race important one because it is also the elimination race in the Round of 10 of the Playoffs?
“Oh yeah, a thousand percent. Also, with that being said, last year we really weren’t that great at Kansas. So, kind of going back and re-baselining, because we were good there two years ago when I was in the 51 there. We were really good and had a truck capable of winning the race. Last year, we weren’t very good at all. So re-baselining, going back with kind of what we know worked before at Kansas combined with our Vegas package and hopefully, we can charge to the front.”
Chandler Smith Career Highlights:
- Across 45 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 14.3.
- 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.
- Has posted an average finish of 29.5 across two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts in 2022, with a best result of 22nd coming at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway.
- 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-63: The No. 18 Charge Me team will unload KBM-63 for Saturday night’s race at Kansas. In its most recent outing, Smith led 21 laps and finished fourth with in March at Atlanta Motor Speedway. KBM owner-driver Kyle Busch drove KBM-63 to its lone victory across seven starts in June of 2020 at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway.
KBM-63 Performance Profile
KBM Notes of Interest:
- KBM drivers have collected five wins, four poles, 696 laps led, 15 top-five and 24 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 9.6 across 37 starts at Kansas.
- Owner-driver Kyle Busch has collected three wins at Kansas (2014, 2017 and 2021). Noah Gragson led a race-high 128 laps and swept all three stages in the 2018 event and William Byron earned his first career Camping World Trucks victory there in 2016.
- KBM holds the Camping World Truck Series records for most career wins (93) 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.
