Regan Smith will lean on proven track record in search for new ride

Jeff Gluck | USA TODAY Sports

At 32, Regan Smith feels like he’s just entering his prime as a race car driver.

He’s won at least one NASCAR national series race in each of the last five seasons, including two victories this season in the Xfinity Series. He’s been regarded highly enough to substitute in Sprint Cup Series races for Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch and Kyle Larson — as well as in practice and qualifying for Jimmie Johnson.

But as this season draws to a close, there’s just one problem: Smith doesn’t know where he’ll drive next year.

“I know what I’m capable of as a driver,” he told USA TODAY Sports this week. “The scariest part for me is I don’t want to lose that opportunity to be out there racing and competing. I don’t want to lose these years.”

Smith hasn’t hit the open market for three years, when he moved from Furniture Row Racing to JR Motorsports. His goal was always to get back into the Sprint Cup Series, but he was determined to be patient.

Now he doesn’t have a choice. JRM informed Smith it did not have a seat for him next year (new drivers Elliott Sadler and Justin Allgaier brought sponsorship with them), forcing the New York native to scramble.

And given the current sponsorship climate in NASCAR — where it’s become increasingly challenging to get a ride without bringing money — Smith is hoping his track record is enough to help him find a new home.

“The misconception was, ‘You have something and that’s why you’re leaving JRM,’” he said. “No, I got told I didn’t have a position there in the coming season. Now I’m paying more attention to the free agency thing, I can say with 100% certainty I’ve never seen it this difficult to get things done and solidified.”

That means Smith, currently fourth in the Xfinity standings, is in the uncomfortable position of having to pitch himself to teams. Though there are quality Cup-caliber drivers with experience on the market — Smith and David Ragan among them — many teams are focused on finding the next Kyle Larson or Erik Jones.

But Smith said it took him years to understand how to best communicate with his team about making changes on the car, which put him “at a level right now driver-wise that I’ve never been at.”

“A lot of teams are wanting to sign the next 18-year-old, but not all 18-year-olds are going to be Kyle Larson,” he said. “A lot of times guys don’t get to their best levels until they’re experienced and know how to help a team get much better. That’s kind of where I’m at right now.”

Follow Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck

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