Sammy Smith has been named the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year.
The news comes as the 19-year-old Smith from Johnston, Iowa, is coming off his first full-time campaign in the Xfinity circuit, where he piloted Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Toyota Supra to his first career victory at Phoenix Raceway in March along with a total of two poles, two stage victories, six top-five results, 15 top-10 results, 334 laps led and an average-finishing result of 15.4 throughout the 33-race schedule, which were enough for him to settle in sixth place in this year’s final standings.
Smith, a member of the TD2 driver development program whose racing career started at age eight in go-karts before ascending into legends cars, late models and the CARS Tour, is a former winner of the Florida Governor’s Cup, the Winchester 400 and the Redbud 400. He also claimed back-to-back ARCA Menards Series West championships in 2021-22, where he first drove for Joe Gibbs Racing before Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2022, and achieved six career ARCA Menards Series victories in 2022 while driving for KBM. During the 2022 ARCA season, he missed four of the first five events due to age restrictions but was able to contribute to KBM claiming the owner’s title based on his six victories and 15 top-five results in 16 starts.
In June 2022, Smith was announced to compete in his first eight Xfinity events with Joe Gibbs Racing. Ultimately, he made nine starts, claiming three top-10 results and a season-best third-place run at Watkins Glen International. Graduating to a full-time Xfinity stint for this season and in JGR’s No. 18 Toyota Supra, Smith rallied from finishing no higher than 17th during the first three scheduled events by scoring his first Xfinity career victory at Phoenix after leading a race-high 92 of 200 laps and beating teammate Ryan Truex by six-tenths of a second.
By then, the 18-year-old Iowa native, who earned his first Xfinity victory in his 13th series start, became the youngest competitor to win an Xfinity event at Phoenix, the fourth-youngest winner in series history and the 21st different competitor to win an Xfinity event while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. Smith would earn three additional top-five results and a total of nine top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch before entering the 2023 Xfinity Series Playoffs as one of 12 competitors vying for this year’s title.
After notching two top-10 results and finishing no lower than 11th during the Playoff’s Round of 12, Smith was able to transfer into the Round of 8 by four points. Smith’s title hopes, however, evaporated after finishing 17th, ninth and third, respectively, throughout the Round of 8. Nonetheless, Smith, who had achieved his first Xfinity career pole a week earlier at Martinsville Speedway, was able to notch his second consecutive Xfinity pole for the finale at Phoenix, lead the first 11 laps and rally from being penalized for speeding on pit road and for a fire erupting late in his pit stall to finish in ninth place on the track.
With his accomplishment, Smith became the first competitor from Iowa to achieve the Xfinity rookie title since Cedar Rapids’ Landon Cassill made the last accomplishment in 2008. Smith also became the fifth different competitor since 2015 to claim the rookie title while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Smith’s closet rival for this year’s rookie title was Chandler Smith, who ended up in ninth place in the final standings and claimed both his first Xfinity victory at Richmond Raceway in April and his first berth into the Xfinity Playoffs while driving for Kaulig Racing. Smith’s other rivals for the rookie title included Parker Retzlaff and Blaine Perkins.
With the rookie title achieved, Smith will be departing Joe Gibbs Racing to drive the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports for the 2024 Xfinity Series season as he strives for more victories and another opportunity to make the Playoffs and contend for the series title.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series teams and competitors enter an off-season period before returning to action at Daytona International Speedway on February 17, 2024, to commence a new season of racing. The event’s broadcast time is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET on FS1.
