Detroit, MI (Wednesday, December 7, 2022) - A pair of Super Late Model stars and prominent ARCA Menards Series competitors are moving up to the NASCAR ranks next season.
Sammy Smith has earned a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series ride in 2023 with Joe Gibbs Racing piloting the number 18 Toyota. The Johnston, Iowa driver competed in nine Xfinity races last season, collecting three top tens and a podium finish at Watkins Glenn in August.
Smith is a two-time ARCA Menards Series East Champion winning the title in 2021 and 2022. Smith won three out of eight races in 2021 and remarkably, five out of seven races in 2022, never finishing outside of the top 5.
Sammy Smith's Super Late Model accolades are highlighted by winning the 50th Running of the Winchester 400 in October of 2021. This season, he won the 56th Annual Redbud 400 at Anderson Speedway, drove to victory lane in the Race Track Revival 75 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, and most recently finished second to Derek Thorn in the 55th Annual Snowball Derby in Pensacola, Florida last weekend. Horsepower Happenings' Rich Frantz caught up with him post-race. That interview can be heard on the latest episode of the Horsepower Happenings podcast - Listen.
Daniel Dye has signed on full-time to drive for GMS Racing in the NASCAR Craftsmen Truck Series for 2023. Dye has spent three season in the ARCA Menards Series' where he earned a career high second in the 2022 year end ARCA Menards Series championship standings by collecting 13 top fives and 17 top tens in 20 races. The 18 year old racer collected one ARCA Menards Series East win at Berlin Raceway in July of 2021.
Daniel Dye, from Deland, Florida, has been competing nationally on the Super Late Model circuit for several seasons now in his familiar number 43 car, paying homage to NASCAR legend Richard Petty.
"I am really thankful for the opportunity to drive the No. 43 Chevrolet Silverado RST for GMS Racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2023," remarked Dye. "GMS Racing, their partners and staff, are the best in the business, and to drive their Chevy trucks next season is something that I've dreamed of for a long time. I'm counting down the days to coming back here at Daytona to race under the lights."
The opening race for the NASCAR Craftsmen Truck Series is on Friday night, February 17th.
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