Every Sunday afternoon, at every Nascar event, forty three cars line up and all of them have the same chance of winning that race. But with the "regulars" like Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin winning every week, the less popular, less funded teams fall by the wayside. Busch, Johnson and Hamlin may as well set up vacation homes next to victory lane since they spend so much time there. So, if you're like me, seeing the same old faces winning every week gets a little bit tiresome and a lot more aggravating. We would love to see an underdog break through and steal a victory just once. Isn't there a David out there that can slay these Goliaths? Well on Saturday night in Darlington, David didn't just slay Goliath, he decimated him.
Regan Smith, a native of Cato, New York, had been trying for some time just to break through and prove he could compete at the Sprint Cup series level. After running a few Craftsman Truck and Busch series races, Smith got his Cup series opportunity in 2007 with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. He would be in a great position, spitting seat time in the #01 U.S. Army car with Mark Martin. There is no better driver out there than Martin to show a rookie driver the ropes of Cup racing. Smith proved that he could at least keep up with the field. Not running a full season, it was hard to get in the groove of running every week and gaining experience at certain tracks. In August of that season, DEI merged with the struggling Ginn Racing. Ginn had recently fired Sterling Marlin and his seat was now promised to Smith. Life was good. This rookie thing isn't all that hard right?
But just as quickly as the ride appeared, it was yanked out from under him so teammate Paul Menard could get in the top 35 in owner points. Regan ran a full season in 2008in DEI's #01 entry, with few good results and even fewer sponsors. Despite this, they made it through the season and Smith won the Rookie of the Year award. He is also the only rookie in Nascar history to run a full season without a DNF (Did Not Finish). The other bright spot for the #01 team came at Talladega Superspeedway. Regan's #01 car was running second to Tony Stewart's #20 on the final lap. As the field entered the trioval, Smith got a run and tried to go high, but Stewart blocked him. So he ducked low. Smoke blocked again, this time forcing the #01 below the "out of bounds" line. The #01 crossed the line first and appeared to win the race. But since his pass was below the line, despite being FORCED down there, Nascar gave the win to Stewart and relegated Smith to 18th. To this day, any fan with any common sense, myself included, will tell you that Smith won the race. In 2009, Smith raced part time for Furniture Row Racing, a struggling team out of Denver, Colorado. He would race full time for them again in 2010 and is still there this season.
Like I said; Furniture Row Racing operates out of Denver, Colorado! You can't get much further from Charlotte, North Carolina where the other 99% of race teams are. They can't win with their lack of technology and resources. Especially on a track as historic as Darlington. Known as "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame", the Southern 500 at Darligton was run every Labor Day weekend from 1950 up until 2004. Johnny Mantz won the inaugural race on truck tires to limit his pit stops and gain an advantage. Since then, names like, Yarborough, Allison, Waltrip and Earnhardt all had tamed this tough old track. How could a single car team from Colorado win at a place this historic. They would just be another "Darlington Stripe" along the red and white walls. But they were on the grid for Saturday's Southern 500 so they did have a chance, albeit a slim one. Vegas actually had the Syracuse native at 500-1 odds. The #78 Furniture Row car started 23rd, their worst starting spot of the year. This team also has the best qualifying average in Nascar so far this year. As the laps wound down, it looked like Kyle Busch or Carl Edwards or even Kasey Kahne would claim the 62nd Southern 500. But on a late caution, Smith and crew chief Pete Rondeau elected to stay out on old tires and grab some track position, while Edwards and the other leaders pitted for right side rubber.
Clean air and clear racetrack proved to be all the #78 car needed. Smith held off a hard charging Carl Edwards for one more restart and, despite almost nailing the wall off turn two, Regan Smith managed to get his second (first official) Sprint Cup series victory! Justice had been served and Regan Smith now has a checkered flag that he can keep. Nobody will ever be able to take away this hard fought win. Smith even said in victory lane he would "trade three Talladega trophies for one Southern 500." He's also in the All Star race now and, if he can get in the top 20 in points, this one win could get him a wildcard spot in the Chase! Not bad for a guy from Syracuse New York that nobody wanted to take a chance on. It was great to see Regan climb from his car, exhausted from the hardest 500 miles in Nascar, grinning ear to ear and choking up during his interview with FOX Sports. He told Matt Yocum "Legends win this race. I'm not supposed to win this race. I've never even had a top five!" Regan Smith is a great, very underrated driver and with the right team , he could really surprise a lot of people. But for now, this driver will be smiling for a long time. His name and picture are on the Johnny Mantz Trophy and nobody can ever take it off.
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