Regan Smith turned in a strong performance in Saturday’s NASCAR Busch Series race at California Speedway, posting a ninth-place finish in the Stater Bros. 300.
The result catapulted the 23-year-old Ginn Racing driver from 26th to ninth in the Busch point standings.
“This was a solid performance for our Ginn Resorts team, ” said Smith, who finished ahead of 13 of the 21 Nextel Cup drivers competing in the 150-lap, 300-mile event. “Doug (Randolph, crew chief) did an awesome job calling the race and I can’t say enough about our pit stops—they were awesome. “
The Ginn Resorts over-the-wall crew was indeed in sync with quick pit stops that gave Smith excellent track position each time he returned to the 2-mile oval. For the superior effort in the pits, Smith’s crew won the Checker’s/Rally’s Double Drive-Thru Challenge for spending the least amount of time of pit road.
Smith qualified 26th and raced his way into the top 10 by Lap 50. While Randolph made adjustments to the car to compensate for changing track and weather conditions, Smith drove a patient and methodical race, staying in or near the top-10 for the majority of the race.
“I wish we had a few more laps because I was faster than a lot of the guys in front of me, ” explained Smith. “We were better than our finish at the end, but I’m definitely happy with our result. “
“Regan drove a smart race, ” offered Randolph. “The pit crew also did a great job and came through when we really needed them. It was an all-around team effort. “
Smith added, “I’m having a lot of fun and I’m super proud of everyone on this team. We all feel that we have the talent to be a contender week in and week out. ”
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