For anyone who regularly watches the ARCA Menards Series, the jump from there to the NASCAR Xfinity Series must seem like a gigantic leap — not only from the types of tracks and schedule duration but also from a competition standpoint.
But it seems like that is precisely what Sammy Smith will do in 2023.
During last weekend’s Xfinity broadcast, NBC’s Marty Snider said that sources told him that Smith will be driving a Toyota Supra in the Xfinity Series full time for Joe Gibbs Racing next season.
However, is that the right move — or something more calculated?
Smith won the 2021 ARCA Menards Series East championship after snagging three wins and scoring seven top fives in eight races. Two of those top-five finishes came in the three combination races with the ARCA Menards Series. He also finished third in the season finale ARCA Menards Series West race at Phoenix Raceway. It was an impressive year for a young driver who turned 17 in the middle of the season.
Moving into 2022, Smith has captured three wins in the first five of seven races in ARCA East and has a clean sweep of top-five finishes. His main-series ARCA workload has also increased, starting 10 races and scoring victories at Berlin Raceway and Elko Speedway.
On paper, Smith has been nothing short of impressive, but it’s no secret that he has the best equipment in two series where the competition isn’t as stout.
The jump from ARCA to Xfinity will have Smith enter a drastically different environment. The workload load will be higher, as he will start no less than 21 races between ARCA, ARCA East and ARCA West in 2022 (three of which will be combination races between ARCA and ARCA East). The Xfinity Series has 33 races.
He’s experiencing tracks such as Pocono Raceway, Michigan International Speedway and Kansas Speedway through his starts in ARCA alone, which will help in a potential move to Xfinity. But that doesn’t change the fact that the ARCA competition is still at a lower level, as, once again, he only has one finish so far in ARCA outside the top five.
That said, Smith has impressed me in his four Xfinity starts so far in 2022.
Typically, I believe a driver must spend a season or two in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series before venturing to the Xfinity garage. Its schedule is a similar length to an ARCA calendar but has an increased competition level along with longer races. ARCA has around a handful of full-time cars and drivers that are challengers for the…
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