Something’s not quite right at Joe Gibbs Racing’s Xfinity program. While they’ve confirmed four cars for next season, they are yet to announce a driver for one of those seats. For those unaware, a recent string of signings has shaken up JGR’s second-tier lineup for 2025. Brandon Jones, Taylor Gray, and William Sawalich will all be fresh additions with financial backing on full-time contracts.

That spells trouble for Chandler Smith, considering his contract will run out in only a few weeks. If Coach Gibbs & Co. continues to rotate the fourth car for multiple drivers again, he might have to go unemployed next year. And because of his sub-par endorsement value, teams aren’t exactly crowding the 22-year-old prospect. A situation like this could force Chandler Smith to bid an early goodbye to the sport, and he made that clear after his 13th-place finish at Homestead.

Is Chandler Smith chasing Phoenix glory or a construction gig?

Joe Gibbs Racing began the 2024 Xfinity Series season with two full-time drivers. After a year-long stint with Chevrolet and Kaulig Racing, Chandler Smith switched back to Toyota and joined the #81 crew at JGR. Alongside him, Sheldon Creed came over from Richard Childress Racing as his only other full-time teammate. Although Creed and his #18 team have thus far gone winless this season, Smith has scored two race wins and is currently only 28 points away from a Championship 4 spot after the Homestead Xfinity race.

Yet, quite ironically, Sheldon Creed will drive for the newly formed Haas Factory Team (HFT) next season, while Smith remains scrambling for a seat. As he told Bob Pockrass, after a mediocre day in Miami, “Well, I don’t have a ride next year Bob. I could be working for my dad’s construction business and I could be hanging it up at the end of this year. So that being said, all craps will not be given at Martinsville…” Indeed, that paints quite a sad picture for Smith, who could theoretically still claim one of two potential spots in the Phoenix championship finale. But then again, that depends on how well he runs at Martinsville next weekend.

At the Amex Credit Card 300 in Homestead this past Saturday, Smith won his third pole award of the season. However, he could not capitalize on his track position. The #81 car scored 29 points at the end of all 200 laps. For that matter, Chandler Smith’s most notable moment was when he ran over his jackman’s jack on a 20-or-so-second pit stop. With Austin Hill’s win now locking him into the Phoenix battle, Smith has one race left to pull a rabbit out of his hat when it matters the most. Hence, it would explain his headstrong attitude toward the Martinsville race a week from now.

After all, he probably needs it. In his own words, “There’s not really any seats left open. The only seats left open, you gotta bring a big, big pocketbook. And I don’t have a big pocketbook so…” So, the next best thing to do is win the championship. That will surely help Chandler Smith catch the eye of sponsors, if not a potential race team, right? Well, as his own career has been a testament until now, even success does not guarantee bigger paychecks.

A last stand at Martinsville

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Chandler Smith has won 10 ARCA races, 5 Truck Series races, 3 Xfinity Series races, and the 2021 Truck Series Rookie of the Year, all before he turns 23 in June next year. For an average 22-year-old driver, that is a pretty impressive resume, although some would argue he’s too old to be in the developmental series. It feels like Smith has been in the lower series forever. But it’s hardly his results. Leading up to Homestead, he had the best average finish of all drivers in the 2024 Xfinity season (10.6).

Instead, as has been the norm in a stacked TRD pipeline for younger drivers for some time now, Smith suffered from the lack of backing throughout his rise up the ranks. Chandler’s father, Mike Smith, and his Smith General Contracting construction company have handled most of his son’s racing expenses for the longest time. But it is hard to play this game alone. This year, Quik Tie, who sponsored Smith for all 33 races of his 2023 season with Kaulig, cut down their backing to only 14 races. Other trusted sources clear it: Chandler Smith does not bring the money he once used to.

So, it’s quite understandable why he is putting all his chips in one basket for Martinsville. The National Debt Relief 250 is a must-win for the young phenom next weekend. “We were really fast there in spring. Just don’t need to wreck in practice,” he said. “I could make my life a little easier not to drive from the back hopefully.” What he said next to Pockrass truly emphasized his precarious situation. “If it’s meant to be, it’ll happen. If not, we still had an amazing season this year. And super, super grateful for the opportunity that I had this year with everybody that I was able to work with at Joe Gibbs Racing.”

From the looks of things, Chandler Smith needs his big break soon. If not, we might lose another talent to NASCAR’s disappointing sponsorship graveyard.