Regan Smith: From Hooters Pro Cup to a Darlington Cup Win and Fox Pit Reporter

Regan Smith is an American driver whose career ran from go-karts and regional titles to a first Cup win at Darlington in 2011. He later raced for several Cup teams and in the Nationwide Series, before building a second career in NASCAR television.

Who is Regan Smith and where did his racing begin?

Regan Lee Smith is an American stock car driver, born on 23 September 1983. He is semi-retired from full-time racing and now works as a pit reporter for NASCAR on Fox, while still competing part-time in the Truck Series. Those early years laid the foundation for his later Cup and Nationwide career.

He was raised in a racing family and began at the age of four in go-karts and microds. Early on he collected numerous regional and state championships, which set up the step into professional racing.

The household relocated from Cato in New York to Mooresville in North Carolina in 1995, a move designed to help his racing progress. In 1998 he joined the World Karting Association with a factory-supported team and won the championship that year.

He also began in the Allison Legacy Series in 1998, racing there for two seasons. He claimed the series Rookie of the Year award and then the championship in 1999.

His debut in the Hooters Pro Cup Series came in 1999 at USA International Speedway, where a crash 18 laps into the race left him last.

A driver who won at Darlington in his first Cup win, then found a second career describing the sport from pit road.

Hooters Pro Cup and the first NASCAR starts

Smith moved into the Hooters Pro Cup Series full-time in 2000. That first season produced five top-ten finishes, and only one of his results was inside the top five, at Myrtle Beach in May. He returned in 2001 and started from pole at Thompson, Louisville, IRP and Chemung.

His NASCAR career began in 2002 with a Truck Series debut at South Boston, in a Ford for MB Motorsports numbered 63. He qualified 28th but was slowed by engine trouble mid-race and finished 29th.

Later that year he made his Busch Series debut at Memphis in October, driving a No. 07 Chevrolet for Ed Whitaker. He qualified 16th but finished 39th after a wreck. His last start of the season came in the Truck Series at Phoenix, where he qualified 12th and finished 30th after ignition trouble ended his race early.

How did the 2003 season with Bost Motorsports go?

In 2003 Smith joined Bost Motorsports for a planned full-time season. Despite little sponsorship, he posted three top-twenty finishes and sat second in the Rookie of the Year standings at the halfway point. The partnership ended after the July race at Daytona.

He returned at Pikes Peak in a No. 47 Chevrolet for Innovative Motorsports, qualifying 29th and finishing 40th after ignition problems. For the season finale at Homestead he drove a No. 56 Chevrolet for Mac Hill Motorsports, finishing 28th after qualifying 19th.

He finished the year 38th in points, a result that reflected a season spent moving between rides.

How did Regan Smith's part-time 2004 season unfold?

In 2004 Smith ran part-time for several teams. He missed the season-opening Daytona race after failing to qualify with Mac Hill Motorsports, but then made six straight starts for that team. Mac Hill's best showing for him was 17th at Nashville Superspeedway.

At Nazareth he practised and qualified a car for Kasey Kahne, the Akins Motorsports driver, who was racing for his Winston Cup team at the time. At Charlotte he failed to qualify and was released by Mac Hill.

Holigan Racing then hired him for three races, and he featured in a handful of episodes of The Reality of Speed, which covered the squad on SpikeTV while it operated. Phoenix Racing put him in the No. 1 Dodge Charger for Pikes Peak, a race where he qualified 19th before finishing 15th.

His first NASCAR top-ten came at the Truck Series finale at Homestead. In the MRD Motorsports Silverado numbered 06, he qualified 25th, drove through the field and finished ninth.

What went wrong in Regan Smith's 2005 season?

In 2005 Smith began in the Truck Series with Xpress Motorsports, but a Daytona wreck, a blown engine at Fontana and a failure to qualify at Atlanta preceded his release. He then drove for Glynn Motorsports in both series before being let go again before the year ended.

Glynn first put him in the No. 65 Dodge Ram from Mansfield. After four races he moved to the team's Busch Series entry, the No. 58 Dodge, replacing Brent Sherman, as the team tried to hold its points position above 30th.

He found some success that season, with 15th-place finishes at Nashville, Loudon and Gateway, and he qualified in the top ten six times. Even so, Glynn released him before the Busch Series finale.

He ended the season back in the Truck Series with MRD Motorsports for three races. He finished 29th at Atlanta, wrecked out at Texas and then had a mechanical problem at Homestead.

In November 2005 he agreed terms with Team Rensi Motorsports for the full 2006 Busch Series season, driving the No. 35 McDonald's Ford in place of Jason Keller. He finished with one top-ten, a tenth at Charlotte, and ended the year 20th in points.

Back in October 2006, team boss Bobby Ginn said Smith would start testing for the squad, aiming at a 16-race part-time Cup programme for 2007 in view, and would share the No. 01 with Mark Martin.

How did the 2007 Cup debut and the Ginn merger affect Smith?

In 2007 Smith tried for a Daytona 500 start in a fourth entry, No. 39, for Ginn Racing. He qualified 25th fastest, but in his Gatorade Duel he finished 19th and failed to make the race. It was his first attempt at a Cup race.

His Cup debut came at Bristol's Food City 500, the race that also introduced the Car of Tomorrow. He started 12th and ended 25th, having had trouble on pit road.

In July Ginn released its full-time drivers midseason and added the rest of the year to Smith's schedule, with a full-time promotion for 2008 in view. Before he could race again, however, Ginn merged with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. The No. 14 was shut down, and Smith was left without a ride.

What happened in the 2008 Talladega finish with Tony Stewart?

At Talladega in October 2008 Smith got by race leader Tony Stewart on the last lap and crossed the line first. NASCAR later ruled that he had dropped below the yellow line to make the move, and the win was handed to Stewart. He was classified 18th, the last car still on the lead lap.

After the race Smith said Stewart had pushed him below the line, which he gave as the reason for the move. The episode came during his first full season in the DEI car.

How did Regan Smith finish his first full Cup season?

Smith returned to DEI for 2008, taking over the No. 01 as a full-time driver once Mark Martin had moved to the No. 8 alongside Aric Almirola and Dale Earnhardt Jr. left the team. Rookie of the Year eligibility still applied to him, but the team replaced him at Watkins Glen and Sonoma with road course specialist Ron Fellows.

He finished 2008 34th in points, with his best results being 14th at Martinsville and Bristol. In the Rookie of the Year standings he finished first, beating Sam Hornish Jr. by seven points.

He also became the first winner of that award to complete a rookie year with no DNF.

How did Regan Smith win his first Cup race in 2011?

Regan Smith won his first Cup race in May 2011, taking the Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington. He kept Carl Edwards at bay after staying out on worn tyres, and he became the third driver to win his first career Cup race at Darlington.

The result gave Furniture Row Racing its first Cup Series win, and it would be the only one that did not come from Martin Truex Jr. Smith later finished third in the Brickyard 400, saving fuel to coast home in that position.

His 2011 season began strongly at Daytona. He qualified fifth for the 500, but Kurt Busch turned him and Clint Bowyer and Ryan Newman made contact with his car. Despite the damage he finished seventh, his first Cup top-ten and the first for Furniture Row.

The season finished with five top-tens and 26th in the overall standings, a record that reflected the team's rising form.

What were Regan Smith's Furniture Row years like?

Smith joined Furniture Row for a part-time 2009 season after DEI merged with Chip Ganassi Racing. He attempted 20 races that year and failed to qualify twice late in the season. In 2010 he ran full-time for the team, with best finishes of 12th at Fontana and at Talladega, and 28th in points.

In 2012 he again drove for Furniture Row. At Daytona he finished second behind Matt Kenseth in his Gatorade Duel and started sixth in the 500. In August at Bristol he drifted up the track in the closing laps, turning Danica Patrick into the outside wall.

Patrick climbed out of her car and waved a finger at Smith as he drove past. On 24 September 2012 Furniture Row announced it was moving on from him and had signed Kurt Busch for the No. 78 in 2013.

Smith's final race for the team came at Talladega. When Dale Earnhardt Jr. was diagnosed with a concussion after a wreck there, Hendrick Motorsports named Smith as his replacement for two races. At Charlotte he climbed into the top ten before engine problems, and at Kansas he qualified 39th and finished seventh.

How did Regan Smith's Nationwide career begin with JR Motorsports?

Smith made his JR Motorsports debut at the 2012 Homestead finale, qualifying tenth and taking the lead with 22 laps to go. He held on for his first career Nationwide victory, and JR Motorsports announced him as a full-time driver for 2013.

In his first full season he moved into the No. 7, replacing Danica Patrick, who had gone to Cup full-time. At Daytona he led 23 laps before a spin while trying to block Brad Keselowski set off a wreck that sent Kyle Larson's car into the catchfence.

The wreck injured 28 fans. Smith returned to Cup the next day for the Daytona 500 with Phoenix Racing, qualifying 40th and finishing seventh.

At Talladega in the Nationwide race, Smith was battling Kasey Kahne and Joey Logano for the win when a big wreck brought out a caution. Kahne appeared ahead at the line, but NASCAR awarded Smith the win because he had been leading when the caution came out.

He then won at Michigan in June, passing Parker Kligerman for the lead with 13 laps to go and keeping Kyle Larson behind. He ended the year third in points with 19 top-tens, eight top-fives and two victories, and he was named the series' Most Popular Driver.

The 2014 season carried the momentum. He won the Daytona opener in a photo finish with Brad Keselowski, stayed in the top ten for his first 13 races, and finished second in points, behind teammate Chase Elliott.

How did Regan Smith's Cup roles develop in 2014 and 2015?

In 2014 Smith became a regular standby driver in Cup. In May Hendrick named him standby at Charlotte for Jeff Gordon, who was suffering back spasms ahead of the Coca-Cola 600. Gordon finished the whole race, all 600 miles of it.

Later that year Smith drove the Stewart-Haas car numbered 14 at Watkins Glen in place of Tony Stewart, a seat freed up when Stewart stepped out following the death of Kevin Ward Jr.

The 2015 Xfinity season opener ended badly when Daniel Suarez clipped him in the right rear. The car rolled over one time before settling on its wheels. Smith was unharmed and was credited with 35th.

In 2015 he ran the first three Cup races for Stewart-Haas, replacing Kurt Busch, who was suspended. He then drove the No. 42 for Chip Ganassi Racing at Martinsville after Kyle Larson fainted, and that race was his final Cup start of 2015.

At Watkins Glen in August, Ty Dillon spun him on a restart. Later, contact with Brendan Gaughan caused another spin. After the race the two drivers argued on pit road and began grabbing each other until crew members separated them.

He won at Mid-Ohio the next week, passing Alex Tagliani, a road course ringer, on the last lap, and he won again at Dover in October. He then said he would not return to JR Motorsports in a full-time role for 2016, and Justin Allgaier was named his replacement on 28 October.

What happened with Tommy Baldwin Racing in 2016?

In 2016 Smith returned to Cup full-time with Tommy Baldwin Racing, driving the No. 7 in place of Alex Bowman. He finished eighth at Daytona and did not score another top ten until Pocono in August, where he took third. On 17 November the team said it would not compete full-time after 2016, leaving him without a ride.

He missed the Chicagoland race that year, and Ty Dillon took his seat for the event. The season ended with the team's plans unresolved and Smith searching for another full-time opportunity.

How did Regan Smith's 2017 to 2019 part-time seasons look?

Smith joined RBR Enterprises on 8 February 2017 for 13 Truck races. In May he drove the No. 43 for Richard Petty Motorsports while Aric Almirola recovered from injury, running the Monster Energy Open, the All-Star qualifier, the Coca-Cola 600 and Dover. Bubba Wallace took over the car after Dover.

In August he made a one-race Xfinity start for Joe Gibbs Racing at Mid-Ohio. Kasey Kahne then stepped away from racing for the rest of 2018 for health reasons, and Leavine Family Racing named Smith as his replacement from Indianapolis.

Leavine's 11 races all ended on track, with a Talladega result inside the top ten. In 2019 he went back to JR Motorsports for two Xfinity starts, at Mid-Ohio and Road America, in the No. 8 car.

Where is Regan Smith working now?

Smith now works as a pit reporter on Fox's NASCAR coverage, a role he took up for the 2018 season. He had earlier been a colour commentator for Fox's Xfinity broadcast at Iowa Speedway in June 2017, and he still races part-time in the Truck Series alongside that work.

Fox NASCAR announced the appointment on 29 November 2017, covering pit road for both the Cup and Xfinity series during 2018. Smith said the television work helped him understand the wider NASCAR community, because he was no longer tied to a team and could speak with anyone in the garage.

Regan Smith's career at a glance