Kaulig Racing solidified a key vacancy in its NASCAR Xfinity Series program Wednesday, announcing that top talent Chandler Smith will drive the team’s No. 16 Chevrolet starting next season.
The move comes in conjunction with the announcement that AJ Allmendinger, the current driver of the No. 16 Camaro, will move to Kaulig’s Cup Series operation full-time next year. Smith was introduced as his replacement during Kaulig’s Fan Day festival at the team’s race shop in Welcome, North Carolina, with Allmendinger figuratively and literally handing him the keys during a news conference.
Smith, 20, described the transition to Kaulig as a place to plant roots in his racing career. The agreement places him up a rung on the NASCAR national-series ladder but also positions him well for his driving future.
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“I think it’s no secret that what they’re building here is going to be really big one day, and I’m 20 years old, I’m really young in my career,” Smith told NASCAR.com. “I had a lot of different opportunities to go elsewhere other than where my path was to go. And at the end of the day, I have a newborn baby, I have a family to provide for, and this is where I need to be for the long term. I feel like everything that they’re building here is what I want to be a part of. I would like to be a part of that. Hopefully, I can actually bring something to the table to help build it even faster.”
The youngster has blossomed since joining the Camping World Truck Series full-time in 2021, winning five races for Kyle Busch Motorsports. That includes three victories in this year’s campaign, where Smith is currently ranked as the top points-earner still contending in the series’ playoffs.
Smith will be inheriting a ride that Allmendinger has carried to 12 wins in the last four years, but he also arrives as a bright prospect and fresh face in a veteran Kaulig Racing lineup.
“Youth,” Kaulig team president Chris Rice said when asked about Smith’s attributes. “I mean, you look at it, we’ve got Justin Haley that’s young, and then you look at our other guys, and they’re older, right? And he’s youth. I think that you can run to 45, heck, 47 (years old). You know, AJ is gonna be 41 next year, so, but he brings a lot of youth so if we can continue to build within that, we will have spaces for those guys.
“So he brings a lot of youth but he also brings a lot of different views. He’s a very outgoing guy, and I think with the other two teammates he’s gonna have, they’ll just bring him in, love him and care for him, and I’m sure it won’t be an AJ in the car, but I think he can get there in time.”
The move shifts Smith from Toyota’s pool of development drivers to Chevrolet’s prospect list. That mimics the transition between manufacturers made last month by Kyle Busch, Smith’s team owner who will shift his Cup and Truck Series allegiances to Chevy next year.
Wednesday, Smith was already mingling with fans and signing autographs inside and out of the Kaulig campus for fan-day fun. He says he already finding a comfort level in his new digs.
“It’s awesome. I love it,” Smith said. “Just like I told Chris earlier, the reason I respect these guys so much and why it was so clear for me to come here is because if I was in his position and I ran a company or race team, this is exactly how to do it. It’s so family-oriented. I’ve always said everybody should know that’s a part of our industry, people is what wins races. It’s not all these other different things, it’s people. You take care of your people, they’re going to work twice as hard for you. So that’s what they do here at Kaulig Racing, and I’ve only been here a handful of times and I’ve talked to a lot of people and that’s all I’ve been told is, this is the best place I’ve ever worked.
“So all the men and women at Kaulig Racing are busting their tails, and I haven’t even raced here yet and they’re busting their tails for me. So I already feel at home.”
Smith made his first two Xfinity Series starts (Talladega Superspeedway, Dover Motor Speedway) this spring for Sam Hunt Racing. He’s also a 10-time winner in the ARCA Menards Series, collecting his first victory as a 15-year-old rookie in 2018.