16-year-old roughs up his teammate to repeat as ARCA winner at Madison

TOWN OF RUTLAND – Chandler Smith used a little strategy gamble and a little bumper Friday night to stay unbeaten in the ARCA Menards Series at Madison International Speedway.

The bold 16-year-old from Talking Rock, Georgia, who broke through for his first ARCA win a year ago, set the track qualifying record this time and led 166 laps from the pole, but the victory in the Shore Lunch 200 wasn’t so simple.

Just ask teammate Michael Self. Smith gave him a nudge and motored by to take the lead for good with 11 laps to go.

“That’s what it takes to win some of these races,” Smith said. “All these Venturini (Motorsports) guys are really good, so you’ve got to get aggressive sometimes. I got roughed up pretty good tonight.”

Self – who is more comfortable on the big tracks and earlier in the day asked Smith for help – held on to finish second.

“Look, Chandler’s young. He’s got the opportunity of a lifetime,” Self said. “I’d be a hypocrite if I said I hadn’t raced people like that in my life, because I have. But it’s frustrating when you’re the leader and you get taken out of it.

“If I was in his position, I’d be celebrating now.”

Which he was.

Fifteen-year-old Franklin native Sam Mayer finished third, his second-best finish in six starts. He was second in Salem, Indiana.

Travis Braden and Bret Holmes rounded out the top five. Ty Gibbs, another Venturini driver who ran up front most of the night, ended up eighth after a penalty on a restart.

Fan favorite Hailie Deegan, the fourth Venturini entrant, ended up 12th after her blown engine brought out the red flag just after Smith took the lead for good. 

After leading the first 150 laps, Smith fell to second behind Gibbs and came  pitted for tires just as rain began to fall. The race was red-flagged on Lap 162 but did restart so the other leaders eventually pitted, as well, putting Smith in position to races his teammates for the win.

“It was our only hope (to win) at that point,” he said. “It could have rained and we would have been eighth or tenth. But once we got back underway we knew everyone else would pit and we’d get our track position back.”