For Chandler Smith, the 2025 Daytona 500 represents more than just another race, it is his ultimate chance at a possible redemption. After missing out on the event in 2023, Smith now finds himself with a golden opportunity to prove his mettle, on the back of replacing Mike Wallace, with the team one of eight contenders battling for four open spots in the Daytona 500.

It’s not going to be an easy task, and Smith knows this well, as understood by his comments in the build-up to the race.

Smith relying on the practice sessions before qualifiers to improve his drive

Speaking of how he feels before the Daytona 500, Smith shared, “I feel solid. I think we have to race our way in and then I think that’s when we got a solid chance and also I really think we have a solid chance of making it on speed so I’m eager to see how the first practice goes. I made a 500 attempt a few years ago but we didn’t have any practice before qualifying.” The opportunity materialized after NASCAR withdrew Wallace’s entry just eleven days after the official announcement. NASCAR Officials cited his prolonged absence from racing on intermediate and larger tracks as the reason for pulling the plug on his comeback.

Smith, a proven talent in NASCAR’s lower series, has already demonstrated his ability to compete at the highest levels. In 2023, he made three Cup Series starts with Kaulig Racing, securing respectable top-20 finishes at Richmond, Daytona, and Talladega. Despite his solid performances, he failed to make the Daytona 500 field that year. However, the stars have aligned in 2025, with Garage 66 stepping in to offer him a second shot at one of motorsport’s biggest events.

Smith has got quite an impressive resume and it includes five victories in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. He has also currently got three wins in the Xfinity Series. He secured a top-five finish in the Xfinity championship. This ensured he could make it to the playoffs in both 2023 and 2024 with Kaulig Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing, respectively. Despite his success, JGR parted ways with him at the end of 2024, forcing him to run full-time in the Truck Series with Front Row Motorsports in 2025. With the renewed chance at Daytona, it is like a fresh ray of hope that he might be finally able to prove his worth at the Cup Series level. 

Speaking of how favorable this practice session might be, after his last attempt, the ex-Joe Gibb driver said, “I was literally the first car on the track and we had a mechanical issue. That’s was frustrating and questioned why we didn’t have practice before the biggest qualifying session of motorsports and I’m really happy to see my second attempt is going to have practice before we hit the track for qualifyings. So looking forward to and what type of raw speeds in the car.” With his resilience, talent, and the added advantage of practice before qualifying, Chandler Smith has every reason to believe that 2025 could be his lucky year at the Daytona 500.

While Smith has his opportunity, one mustn’t forget the heavy cost another driver paid for Chandler Smith to be in the car.

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Wallace was about to make a tribute to his late wife with his Daytona 500 attempt

When Mike Wallace announced that even at the age of 65, he would be taking on the steering at the Daytona 500, all the NASCAR fans acknowledged his sportsman spirit. However, later he revealed the real reason. Wallace had lost his wife Carla to ovarian cancer and it was always her wish to see Wallace return to the tracks. 

Sharing his ounce of surprise with NASCAR’s decision, Wallace said, “I’m confused over how the process took place, how it was supposed to take place. I didn’t know there was a process. Again, I don’t want people to think I’m pissed off and angry. I’m just a good guy that wanted to race, had a good cause, and wanted to help a small team……I may have made a wrong assumption. There’s senior leadership and there’s the competition department. It just hurts that I feel like they took away this chance for me to honor my wife and like I said, that’s just disappointing.”

After the decision was announced, NASCAR received quite a bit of backlash from the community given that Wallace as a driver had the potential. Although he hadn’t competed in a NASCAR event since 2020, he had a whopping 809 race starts to his bag. NASCAR in a reply offered Wallace a roadmap so that he could take in an attempt for the 2026 season. However, Wallace turned the offer down and there are high chance that he wouldn’t be seen attempting anytime soon.