Regan Smith drives for an underdog, single-car NASCAR team based in Denver, the only Sprint Cup team located west of the Carolinas.
In 141 career starts, Smith has just one victory, but it was a biggie, the Southern 500 at historic Darlington Raceway last year. So on Saturday night, he'll return to the Bojangles' Southern 500 in an unusual role.
"Defending champion . I like the sound of that," Smith said. "It will be the first time I've ever gone back to someplace as the defending champion in the Cup series. It definitely comes at a needed time for us. We've been struggling a little bit , and we want to get our stuff going back the right direction again, and get back toward the front. I know we have a good setup for there.
"I felt at this time last year we were getting closer to that elusive victory, and then it came at Darlington. What a place to win your first race. The history, the prestige, the difficulty . Darlington has it all, and to say you won there is truly special."
Smith's win at Darlington was one of five top 10 finishes he had last season in the Furniture Row Chevrolet, when he finished a career-best 26th in the points standings. Smith, 28, is still looking for his first top 10 finish this season. He fell from 18th to 27th in the standings after an engine conked out at TalladegaAla., last weekend, consigning him to a season-worst 40th-place finish.
"Nothing has seemed to click lately," said Smith, the 2000 Sprint Cup rookie of the year. "We're a team that came into the season with high expectations, and right now we're not delivering."
So maybe a return to Darlington will be the answer to some of Smith's problems.
"You always carry a little bit of momentum in because of something like that," Smith said of his victory. "Even if it was three years ago that you won at Darlington, you still go back there thinking, 'OK, I feel really good about coming to this place because it is someplace I am comfortable."
"I've always liked racing there. I've always had pretty good luck there when it comes to having fast cars there. It is certainly something between Talladega and Darlington. We can use that to build and get back on track and learn some stuff that will help get the Furniture Row Chevy going forward."
Smith, who finished 17th in the 2010 Southern 500, was able to win last year's race when crew chief Pete Rondeau elected not to pit for fresh tires late in the race. That enabled Smith to move from sixth to first and lead the final 11 laps.
"He simply refused to get passed," Rondeau said of Smith, who held off his challengers in both of the final two restarts and beat Carl Edwards to the checkered flag by 0.196 seconds.
On the final lap, Smith scraped the infamous wall on turn two at the track known as The Lady in Black because of the scuff marks on the white walls, but he kept control of his car.
In addition to a much-needed $272,745 in winnings for his team, Smith carted off the prized 3-foot, 40-pound Johnny Mantz trophy that bears engraved photos of every Southern 500 winner since Mantz won it in 1950.
"When your photo is on the same winning trophy with the faces of Petty, Earnhardt, Pearson, Yarborough, Gordon, Allison, Elliott, Waltrip, Johnson and many more legends," Smith said, you know you accomplished something special.
"I would rather win the Southern 500 than the lottery."
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