Despite arriving late for the 2004 ARCA RE/MAX speedweeks, Brad Smith and his No. 26 team were able to enter the race with a provisional based on last year’s owner points. The car wasn’t ready for Thursday’s qualifying run, so Brad was able to claim his provisional by running at least the minimum speed during Friday’s first practice session.

The team was able to tweak the car and ran even faster in Friday’s final practice session. When the green flag flew on Saturday for the Advance Discount Auto Parts 200, Brad quickly moved out of his 38th place starting spot and began climbing to the front of the field. Unfortunately, the car was involved in a mid-race run-in with the 38 car of Greg Sarff which put the team out of contention for the win.

During a restart, Brad got into the back of Sarff, damaging the front of the car. The team retreated to the garage, where they were able to repair the car enough to salvage a 32nd place finish.

The team can hardly wait for October and Talladega, where the “red car” and the new restrictor plate engine will be able to team up again and hopefully find their way to the front of the field!