Sammy Smith, the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) driver, prevailed on Saturday afternoon in the United Rentals 200 at Phoenix Raceway.
After leading 92 total laps around the one-mile desert oval, including the final 52 laps, Smith scored his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory. At 18 years old, Smith became the fourth youngest driver to do so.
“It is amazing. It’s a dream come true,” Smith said. “Thanks to all of the guys on the JGR team for giving me this opportunity. It is awesome.”
Smith finished .641 seconds ahead of teammate Ryan Truex in the No. 19 Toyota.
“I think the track just changed a lot more than I expected it to. That long run we were really bad — I was just hanging on. Jason (Ratcliff) and these guys let me complain on the radio and we made the right adjustments,” Truex said. “That was a good restart at the end. I’m glad at least I could try to make it exciting.”
Richard Childress Racing’s Sheldon Creed had a valiant run, putting the No. 2 Chevrolet in third.
The most significant moment came at lap 179, when Justin Allgaier was contacted by JR Motorsports teammate Brandon Jones. That sent Allgaier’s No. 7 Chevrolet into the outside wall exiting turn four while Jones ricocheted off Kaz Grala, sending the No. 26 Sam Hunt Racing Toyota into the wall with Allgaier.
The topsy-turvy race featured 11 cautions.
Stewart-Hass Racing’s Riley Herbst finished fourth while Kaulig Racing’s Chandler Smith came in fifth. Other notables included last week’s winner Austin Hill finishing seventh, Kyle Busch placed ninth and polesitter Cole Custer ended his run in Phoenix in 12th.