Daytona, Florida (February 8th, 2020)
The beginning of any racing season at the Daytona International Speedway certainly is a newsworthy event in itself. And with that come many other storylines that are worthy of attention.

One major bit of information that may have gone lost on many is that venerable driver Brad Smith entered his fifth straight decade ARCA Menards series racing competition. Taking his first green flag in 1988, the Shelby Twp., MI resident made his series debut at the tight Illinois bullring of Rockford Speedway just west of Chicago!

“Has it been that long? Man,” he joked at Daytona. “Where does the time go?” Other ARCA drivers have accomplished the same feat. Current car owner Bob Schacht ran his first race in 1971 (although uncredited) as well as the iconic Darrell Basham who took his first ARCA green flag in 1972. As well, Brad’s late car owner, the legendary James Hylton, finished sixth in the 1975 Daytona ARCA “200” (and it remained his best series showing until his passing in 2018). In talking to Basham and Schacht, both have expressed an interest in trying a sixth decade.

But in adding himself to such a rare list, Smith also knew there could be trouble brewing to start this newest campaign. “We knew the engine had a lot of miles on it, so it wasn’t a huge shock. Just the effect of having little to no sponsorship to start the season. Obviously, we are disappointed with our results here. Nobody wants to come home with a 31st place finish and a blown motor,” and he also alluded to the fact that the failure had nothing to do with Ilmor. “I was very pleased with how the car ran and handled. My crew chief Leo Kryger and the rest of the Smith Brothers Racing Team did an excellent job in setting the Copraya.com/HIE Publishing Chevy and getting it ready. And would also like to thank Andy Hillenburg and the entire Fast Track Driving School crew for loaning us their shop in Concord (North Carolina) and their supplies and expertise before we arrived in Florida!

He continued, “Leo and I agreed that we should lay back the first 60 of the 80 laps total and then run hard the last quarter of the race. The poor motor just didn’t make it that far!”

The team will be at Phoenix Friday, March 6th with the same red Chevy Impala but with a different power plant. “All we have to put in that car is a legacy motor. That car will now be our primary short car. All though we will certainly have to run it at Phoenix and ‘Dega until our other cars are finished,” concluded the Shelby Twp., MI resident.

About Detroiter #DriverBradSmith: Brad is approaching his 350th ARCA start & last year he placed 7th in points & has been a consistent top-15/20 driver throughout his career since 1988. In 2016 he finished 6th in #ARCA Points (his best) & won the inaugural ARCA General Tire “Spirit Award” & also was voted the ARCA “Sportsman of the Year” award in 2006. He placed 8th in points for 2017. He holds two Masters Degrees in engineering. Find Smith on every social media platform at @DriverBradSmith on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Another way to check out Smith is by using his hashtags: #DriverBradSmith #RememberHarveyAndTweet #StrangeStrong #BradFansBESTFans #5DecadesOfARCARacing …Or, check out Smith on his web page at bradsmithmotorsports.com Contact Kevin Schwarze for more Brad Smith information at: bradsmithprguy@gmail.com

You can visit Brad Smith at his website, created by Coprayaweb.com/Website Builders at bradsmithmotorsports.com .

Also, receive up to the minute Brad Smith updates on just about any social media platform at @DriverBradSmith.
He also uses the hashtags #DriverBradSmith #BradAt300 #HyltonMotorsports2018 #4DecadesOfARCARacing #ARCARacing #BradFansBESTFans