18-year-old Sammy Smith is one of Toyota’s hottest young prospects, and his ascent through the stock car ladder has already placed him in a NASCAR Xfinity Series ride for 2023. On Tuesday, Joe Gibbs Racing announced he will drive the #18 Toyota GR Supra full-time.
“This is an opportunity I have been working towards,” said Smith. “I can’t wait to get behind the wheel full-time and am looking forward to a great season. I learned a lot in 2022 that will really help me to be competitive and run up front in the Xfinity Series.”
Smith dominated the ARCA Menards Series East in 2021 and 2022, winning eight of fifteen total races with top-five finishes in all but one (the exception was a crash at Iowa in 2021) while also securing the championship both years. He also raced in the national ARCA Menards Series with six victories and top fives in every start but Pocono (where he still won the pole) to place fourth in points despite not running the full schedule.
The second half of 2022 also saw him enter the Xfinity Series with JGR as he ran nine races. He scored three top tens including a third-place run at Watkins Glen.
“Sammy is a fantastic addition to our 2023 Xfinity lineup,” offered JGR Xfinity vice president Steve DeSouza. “He proved to have the passion and the talent to necessary to compete for wins in the races he ran for us in 2022. We are excited to get him in the #18 full time and know he will be competitive from the jump.”
Smith continues a growing trend of prospects bypassing the Craftsman Truck Series and jumping straight from ARCA to the Xfinity Series. While a massive leap, this formula proved successful for JGR’s Ty Gibbs who won the 2021 ARCA title followed by the 2022 Xfinity championship before joining the Cup Series in 2023, all without making a single Truck start.
