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Chandler Smith’s return to Toyota appears to have been the correct move! Smith unloaded in Richmond with a fast car but it wasn’t until the second half of the race when his No. 81 started to show some flashes of brilliance. After a dominating showing in the opening 2 stages by his JGR teammate, Aric Almirola, Smith took the lead in the final stage and never looked back. He would go on to lead over 70 laps to a 1-2-3 finish for Joe Gibbs Racing. This is Smith’s second win of the year.
This win continues the trend of drivers who sweep both stages not being able to get the job done in the second stage. Now 3 of the 4 times this has happened, the race was eventually won by the dominating driver’s teammate.
After a 1-season detour with Kaulig Racing, Chandler Smith is back where he belongs in a JGR Toyota. The hometown kid conquered his hometown track in Richmond in a dominating fashion. Congratulations to Chandler Smith on this statement victory.
Due to contact on pit road during the stage break, Sam Mayer started the final stage with a massive tire rub. The rub would eventually blow the left front tire of the No. 1 JRM Chevy forcing him to pit. He would go several laps down. This is a tough break for Mayer as he appeared to have a strong long-run car.
Joey Gase essentially got dumped by Dawson Cram heading into turn 1. The contact sent Gase hard into the outside wall, totaling his No. 35 machine. To voice his displeasure with the young driver of the No. 4, Gase would rip the rear bumper cover off his car and throw it at Cram as he passed by.
NASCAR on FOX caught up with Gase following the incident. He was clearly disappointed and frustrated.
See how the whole thing played out here:
Jonathan Kinsley wanted to take a moment to give NASCAR on FOX a shoutout and to congratulate JGR.
AA’s Mom is heartbroken for Sam Mayer. It was a tough deal, for sure!
Many fans reacted rather humourously to the Joey Gase/Dawson Cram fiasco.
Paul Landry posted this.
Justin Champagne calls the act “legendary”.
Justin Oros says that “It’s just short track racin'”.
Dan Davis pokes fun at the Rage Against Crime sponsorship.
What a wild ride in Richmond! We here at the Daily Downforce would like to congratulate Chandler Smith and his whole JGR operation. They certainly were the class of the field today. One race down this Easter weekend and one to go. Tune back in here at DailyDownforce.com tomorrow for our exciting coverage of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond!
