Smith also elaborated on the relationship between his own family and Almirola’s, citing a lot of history between the two sides over their careers.
“The first time Aric and I were ever around each other was the DEI days, roughly,” he explained. “I think he had left Gibbs and whenever Ginn and DEI merged … around 2007, 2008 … we got to know each other really well through all that. We worked with a lot of the same people.”
“I’ve leaned on Aric in a lot of different situations. Him and Janice are the same age as my wife and myself. We’ve both got two kids and we both have two kids with very similar age gaps, and last year when we were expecting our second (child) they were two people we leaned on and talked to a lot as to what to expect and what it would look like.”
Saturday, Smith will have to win one of the stages of the Monster Energy Open if he wants to carry the No. 43 team into their first All-Star Race since 2015, when Almirola qualified based on a win at Daytona Int’l Speedway in July of the preceding year.
Though he acknowledged that a non-points weekend provides less pressure than racing as a sub in a traditional points-paying race, Smith said the goal is still the same:
Find a way into the main event if the opportunity exists.
“If we’ve got the opportunity to get in the All-Star Race … that’s why we’re all out there racing, is to get into the main and race for a million dollars. That would be the goal, but (it’s also about) learning what we can for them going forward into next weekend and doing whatever we can to make (Coca-Cola 600) weekend easier on them and (giving) them a bigger notebook and a bigger database for that weekend.”
“I’m gonna weigh out the risk versus reward and do what’s right for the team. If we’ve got the opportunity to get them in the All-Star Race, you take those chances. If you don’t feel like you’re in the position that you need to be in at a given time, you’ve got to make sure that you learn as much as you can because as I said, this is a tune-up for the 600 next week for these race teams. These race teams are all out here trying to learn stuff for next weekend.”
But just as much as Smith is helping the team learn, you’d better believe he’s driven to win and to succeed.
The look in his eyes, as well as his final words walking away, said it all.
“I’m just glad to be back here (in the Cup garage).”
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.
Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 23-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: editor@racechaseronline.com
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
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