NASCAR Team Confirms Veteran Driver’s Long-Rumored 2027 Departure
What’s Happening? Front Row Motorsports revealed that NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series veteran Chandler Smith will not return to the team’s No….
The NASCAR Silly Season gears are officially moving in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series garage after Front Row Motorsports announced that veteran Chandler Smith will not return to their No. 38 truck in 2027.
Since FRM announced this change earlier this week, the team has yet to confirm plans for the No. 38 team, which joined the Truck Series field as an expansion of FRM in 2025, after Layne Riggs’ team switched to the No. 34.
Furthermore, and perhaps more interesting to this situation as a whole, Smith has yet to announce his plans for the new year.
So, where might Smith be heading for the 2027 season?
What’s Happening? Front Row Motorsports revealed that NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series veteran Chandler Smith will not return to the team’s No….
Given his sponsorship and history in the series, it could be easy to picture an established team in the Truck Series pursuing Smith to help rebound from tough times.
Both Niece Motorsports and ThorSport are reeling from a lack of wins, and Smith could be the type of driver to fix that. After all, at just 24, Smith has nine wins and 100 starts in the Truck Series.
Unfortunately, for any Truck team that may seem interested, most leading rumors suggest that Smith is getting a promotion, as opposed to a hop across the garage.
Even though he has seen his ups and downs in his career, most fans suspect that Smith is one day going to get that elusive NASCAR Cup Series ride.
Of course, throughout the at times chaotic 2027 Cup Series Silly Season Rumor Mill, his name has bounced around quite a bit. Smith is no stranger to the series, with three career starts and several attempts, including one to make the Daytona 500 with FRM earlier this year.
Still, most of these rumors focused on a future with FRM, as opposed to another team, and FRM’s announcement was focused on him leaving the team, not a promotion, leading fans to think a Cup Series ride is out of the picture, something the rumor mill agrees with.
What’s Happening? No one in the NASCAR Cup Series garage has spent more time under the NASCAR Silly Season microscope in…
NASCAR drivers bouncing up, down, and around the top three divisions of the sport is nothing new. But if there were ever a driver with unfinished business in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Chandler Smith is that driver.
In 2024, racing with Joe Gibbs Racing, Smith pieced together a championship-caliber effort but fell short of the title, failing to make the Championship Four under NASCAR’s now-retired playoff format.
During the summer stretch of the NASCAR schedule, rumors have flared up that Smith is looking to return to the series in a top ride. While that seat has yet to be identified, most point to one of two potentially open slots at Richard Childress Racing.
As of press time, with Jesse Love’s future at Wood Brothers Racing locked in, the No. 2 team is wide open, and if rumors that Austin Hill will move up to full-time Cup Series action in the No. 33 persist, then another slot could open as well.
While Smith could have his preference, both numbers have an illustrious history in the series and provide Smith with a shot at a title.
What’s Happening? NASCAR’s Silly Season is often a revolving door of drivers, with promotions and demotions causing a chain reaction throughout…
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