[media-credit name=”Furniture Row Racing PR” align=”alignright” width=”109″]
[/media-credit]DENVER, Colo. (May 9, 2012) — For the first time in his NASCAR career Regan Smith enters a Sprint Cup race with the status of being the defending champion.
The 28-year-old driver for the Denver-based Furniture Row Racing became a first-time winner one year ago on Mother’s Day weekend, scoring a hard-fought victory in one of NASCAR’s crown jewels — the Southern 500 at the historic Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
“Defending champion — I like the sound of it,” said Smith about his moniker heading into Saturday night’s Bojangles Southern 500.
Last year’s victory at the daunting 1.366-egg-shaped oval that carries the ominous nicknames — Too Tough To Tame and the Lady in Black — not only elevated Smith’s stature in NASCAR’s premier series, but did the same for the single-car Furniture Row Racing, the only Sprint Cup team based west of the Carolinas.
“I felt at this time last year that we were getting closer to that elusive victory and then it came at Darlington — and what a place to win your first race,” recalled Smith. “The history, the prestige, the difficulty – Darlington has it all and to say you won is truly special.”
Smith doesn’t have to pinch himself as a reminder of being a Darlington winner. He just has to look at one of the most unique trophies in motorsports. His engraved photo, along with all the other Southern 500 champions, is on the 3-foot, 40-pound Johnny Mantz trophy.
“When your photo is on the same winning trophy with the faces of Petty, Earnhardt, Pearson, Yarborough, Gordon, Allison, Elliott, Waltrip, Johnson and many more legends, you know you accomplished something special,” noted Smith. “I would rather win the Southern 500 than the lottery.”
So, how did the underdog Smith tame the toughest track to score his maiden victory while running on older tires in the final 11 laps?
“He simply refused to get passed,” said Furniture Row crew chief Pete Rondeau, who made a calculated call not to pit for fresh tires late in the race.
Rondeau’s gutsy decision to forego the pit stop resulted in Smith’s No. 78 Chevrolet moving from sixth to first in track position.
With the lead and clean air in front of him Smith never looked back. He held off his challengers in both of the final two restarts and crossed the finish line 0.196 of second ahead of Carl Edwards.
The last lap did present a nail-biting moment for the Furniture Row team when Smith scraped the infamous Darlington wall.
“I hit the wall in turn two on the white-flag lap but the chances of me checking up there were about zero,” Smith said in post-race interviews.
While the euphoric memories are still vivid, Smith enters the venue of his greatest achievement with a goal of snapping out of a four-race slump.
“We need to have a positive weekend in our Furniture Row/CSX Play it Safe Chevrolet,” said Smith. “As I said after Talladega, we’re in a partial slump and in a partial bad-luck streak.”
Smith’s season took another wrong turn in Sunday’s race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. On Lap 15 of the scheduled 188-lap race, he was forced to park his car due to an engine failure. He finished 40th, his worst result of the season.
“Nothing has seemed to click lately,” said Smith, who has dropped from 18th to 27th in driver points in the last four races. “We need to forget about the past, look forward and start to turn things around. We’re a team that came into the season with high expectations and right now we’re not delivering.”
For the fourth time this season, Smith’s Chevrolet will carry the I Brake for Trains bumper sticker, which is part of CSX Transportation Play it Safe campaign to urge pedestrians and motorists to exercise caution around railroad tracks.
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Check out www.FarmAmerican.com for this
week’s salute to an American Farm Family
www.FarmAmerican.com will feature stories about American farm and ranch families during the course of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season as part of Furniture Row Racing’s Farm American program, an initiative to keep America’s food supply produced in the United States. This week’s tribute is about a South Carolina farm family actively involved as community leaders.
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Smith’s Career Cup Record at Darlington Raceway
St Fn
2008 16 29
2009 29 21
2010 32 17
2011 23 1
No. 78 Over-the-Wall Crew
Front-tire changer Shane Pipala, Frankfort Square, IL
Front-tire carrier Jon Bernal, Holland, Mich.
Rear-tire changer Coleman Dollarhide, Hickory, N.C.
Rear-tire carrier: Dwayne Moore, Griffin, Ga.
Jackman: Gabe Martin, Lake Wylie, S.C.
Gasman: Justin White, Lynnville, Tenn.
2nd Gasman: Ryan Bergenty, Plainville, Conn.
7th Man/Windshield: Todd Carmichael, Redding, Calif.
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No. 78 Road Crew
Crew Chief Pete Rondeau, Saco, Maine
Competition Director Mark McArdle, La Crosse, Wis.
Car Chief Robert Huffman, Hickory, N.C.
Engineers: Phil Jiminez, Germantown, Tenn.
Matt Faulkner, Memphis, Tenn.
Spotters: Rick Carelli, Arvada, Colo.
Clayton Hughes, Thomasville, N.C.
Engine Specialist Scott Meesters, Hanford, Calif.
Engine Builder Earnhardt-Childress Racing
Shock Specialist Nick Kerlin, Old Fort, Ohio
Tire Specialist Chad Krauch, Loveland, Colo.
Technical Support Michael McCullough, Imperial, Calif.
Mechanics Ryan Bergenty, Plainville, Conn.
Todd Carmichael, Redding, Calif.
Joe Kerrigan, Canon City, Colo.
Transportation Henry Benfield (also gas runner), Statesville, N.C.
Jim Gilbert, Belleville, IL
Dave Hicks, Montcalm, WVa.
Chuck Lemay, DeKalb, IL
John Slingerland, Sacramento, Calif.
