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Joe Gibbs Racing Xfinity Series driver Chandler Smith has sealed his maiden NASCAR victory for the team.
The fourth Xfinity Series run on NASCAR's schedule at the Phoenix Raceway witnessed a caution-riddled race. However, after narrowly escaping the crash on lap 144 involving teammate John Hunter Nemechek, the #81 JGR driver paved the way for his second overall Xfinity win at the Call 811.com Every Dig. Every Time. 200.
The chances of clinching the top spot were slim for the 21-year-old as Justin Allgaier had a two-second lead over him. When only five laps were left, luck played its cards in favor of the JGR driver as Allgaier's #7 Chevrolet rammed into the wall due to a flat left tire.
During the two-lap overtime, Smith found himself dominating the 200-lap race, successfully holding off Jesse Love. Chandler Smith secured his first win for the team and the 2024 season by a whisker margin of 0.365 seconds over the Richard Childress Racing driver, who took home the P2 spot.
Post his enthralling triumph at the one-mile oval, the Georgia native posted his post-race thoughts on X (formerly Twitter) account:
“What a day. We went from dominating, to we weren’t great, to dominating again, to wasn’t great again, just lacked a little bit on (Allgaier). I hate that happened to him. He definitely had it in the bag."
The 2024 Xfinity Series at the Phoenix winner added:
“I’m so proud of everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing. It’s to finally get this first one off the back with these guys. We need to keep racking them up."
Chandler Smith showcases a promising 2024 season with his strong Xfinity Series entry for Joe Gibbs Racing
After parting ways with Kaulig Racing and joining hands with JGR, Chandler Smith entered the 2024 NASCAR season on a rather dominating note.
Smith started off his season with a P5 finish at the season-opener at the Daytona International Speedway, followed by a P2 finish at the Atlanta race. The #81 Toyota driver stood again on a podium with his P3 finish at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and finally took the pinnacle spot at the recently concluded race at the PIR.
After securing four top-5s, Smith stands at the P1 spot in the driver's championship with 183 points in the bag. He has just overtaken the previous leaderboard topper, Austin Hill, who is now shy of the lead by a solitary point.
