Veteran Jack Smith Hoping To Make The Most Of CRA Starts The Rest Of 2015
ARCA/CRA Super Series & JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour races on the schedule for the remainder of the year
New Haven, Indiana (Thursday, August 20, 2015): Veteran driver, Jack Smith has been around Champion Racing Association (CRA) Powered by JEGS off and on for the past 10 seasons. In between appearances in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Smith has always found time to race either within the ARCA/CRA Super Series Powered by JEGS and the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance. The 2015 racing season has been a bit of a challenge for the Buckeye State driver who now calls New Haven, Indiana home, but nothing he hasn’t been able to overcome.
The 42-year-old driver will make his second ARCA/CRA Super Series start at what is now his adoptive home track; the fast 1/2 (0.500) mile semi-banked paved oval of Baer Field Speedway in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The Summit City 100 Presented by Trucking Fort Wayne will be a homecoming of sorts for him as well as his Car Owner and Crew Chief, Greg Urbine. The car is based in New Haven and so is the race shop. With Smith now a Hoosier State representative, this event is also a homecoming of sorts for Smith as well.
“We’ve had some success there over the years with wins in the ASA Late Model Series and the old Super Pro Late Model Series. As much as I love the high-banked tracks, Baer Field really suits my style of driving,” Smith remarked as he and his Urbine Machine Racing Team prepare for the short 20-minute drive to the Summit City speed plant. “We all would love nothing more than to win here in front of the fans, the sponsors. This is a brand new car and it’s been fast every time out. This is our home track and the one time we can say we have a home game. We’re excited for this race.” He added.
In his lone ARCA/CRA appearance in 2015, Smith, in a strategic move, during the Redbud 300 on July 18th at Anderson Speedway, chose not to pit for tires at the mandatory halfway break. He was running 13th at the time and made the decision. He was the only driver on the lead lap to do so and would inherit the lead on the restart ahead of the rest of the field who all took between two to a maximum of all four Hoosier Racing Tires allotted at the break.
The move paid off initially for the Buckeye State veteran who was using the same car he raced with the night before in the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour race as he led the next 17 laps before eventual winner, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series title contender, Erik Jones passed him for the lead. Despite being out-motored due to utilizing his crate engine machine and over the remainder of the race, Smith never let Jones stray too far out in front and would try every trick in his arsenal to get back past Jones despite the rapidly wearing tires he had under him.
Jones, a two-time Snowball Derby winner, could never quite shake off the constant advances of Smith who applied consistent pressure to Jones over the next 130+ laps. With under 10 laps to go, Smith made a another bold move, this time he went to the high side of turns one and two in an attempt to pass Jones only to feel his massively worn out tires give way and slide up the embankment. This forced Smith to dirt track his machine around the oval and he would lose valuable time and real estate to Jones who was then able to pull away. Smith’s tires finally gave out and he could never get back to Jones back bumper. Jones’ would then see the checkered flag first at the end.
Smith fought valiantly in his #28 Urbine Machine / Ford crate motored machine before settling for second, a career high showing in the ARCA/CRA Super Series. He finished fifth the night before in the Anderson 100 Presented by JEGS.com in the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour portion of the weekend and didn’t leave Anderson empty-handed either. He scored the AR Bodies Cool Move of the Race award for his bold decision to not change any tires at the break. In addition, he also collected the C.V. Products Hard-Charger award as well as the first Hoosier Racing Tire Performance award for his impressive 15th to second place run.
His fifth place in the JEGS/CRA race is his season high in that series in four appearances. In his last JEGS/CRA race at Auto City Speedway (MI) on August 8th, he was involved in an accident that resulted in Smith suffering a broken thumb. In addition to his top five, he does have two top 10 showing and one Fast Qualifier award, which also came at Anderson in the same race he finished fifth in back on July 17th.
Despite missing three races in the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour, he currently sits 14th in the points standings and does have a good chance at cracking the top 10 in the final points tallies with five races remaining including two at his favorite race track on the schedule; the legendary 1/2 (0.500) mile high-banked paved oval of Winchester Speedway (IN). The next JEGS/CRA race on Smith’s schedule is the Big ‘O’ Classic 100 Presented by JEGS.com on Saturday, August 29th at Owosso Speedway, another high-banked facility, a 3/8s (0.375) mile high-banked paved oval in Ovid, Michigan.
For the remainder of the 2015 racing season, Smith’s #28 Urbine Machine / Jack Smith Motorsports / Ford will have additional sponsorship from The Brake Man as well as Outerwears Pre-Filters, Hoosier Performance, Robertson Towing, JEGS.com and M.P.H. Promotions. For more information and to inquire about additional sponsorship opportunities for the rest of the 2015 campaign, you can reach Smith by e-mail at: jcsracing@hotmail.com and check out his Facebook Fan Page at: www.facebook.com and searching “Jack Smith Motorsports”.
