Spire Motorsports has been at the forefront of overhauls. Ranging from buying a $40 Million charter from Live Fast Motorsports to roping in champion crew chief Rodney Childers, the team has left no stone unturned. Ahead of the 2025 season, the team is gearing up for a grand team led by Carson Hocevar and Michael McDowell in the Cup Series. Its Truck Series fold also looks eager to spice things up, which may be music to the ears of an Xfinity star – Chandler Smith.

In 2024, Spire fielded Rajah Caruth’s No. 71 Truck and Chase Purdy’s No. 77. However, the latter driver has already announced that he will not return to NASCAR next season. So this throws up new possibilities for Chandler Smith, the stellar Xfinity driver for whom Joe Gibbs did not have room.

Chandler Smith’s fortunes perk up

Joe Gibbs Racing’s former affiliate was on fire this year. Chandler Smith picked up two wins – Phoenix and Richmond – along with accumulating 22 top-tens and 17 top-fives. These incredible stats should convince you that Smith has glittering prospects. Yet, unfortunately, the bitter truth came out at Homestead-Miami, when Smith admitted Joe Gibbs had no room for him. He told the media that working for his dad’s construction business looked like a stark possibility. However, things seem to be looking up for the Talking Rock, Georgia native. A slight tweak in Spire Motorsports’ social media handles indicates a new vacancy is on the table.

Chase Purdy, Spire’s Truck Series driver, posted 6 top-ten and 2 top-five finishes this year. Despite this decent performance, the 25-year-old driver has dropped out of his NASCAR career. He updated his Instagram handle bio – “NASCAR driver (former).”

Then The Daily Down Force confirmed in an article that Purdy will not return to Spire. Does this ring bells of relief for Chandler Smith? Probably, as the man himself dropped hints: “I have some exciting things going on next year. I have signed something and I think we’re going to share the news in the next couple of weeks.”

With the right corporate sponsorship, manufacturer support, and ownership satisfaction, Chandler Smith may turn over a new leaf. He already owns five Craftsman Truck wins, all of which came under Kyle Busch Motorsports. Smith emphasized everything has to fall in place for another NASCAR shot. “It’s just, as you know, a lot more than proving yourself. There are a lot of moving pieces and right places and right times. You have to have a good business sense for when to make decisions. You have to take care of your partners, all these smaller pieces to a larger puzzle.”

He added, “I got a lot of phone calls and the business side of that conversation sucked, but it was rewarding that everyone said they were excited by the idea of racing with me.”

Despite his future looking up, Smith’s unfortunate situation indicates a basic feature of NASCAR.

Money speaks as well as talent

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Since NASCAR debuted in 1948, it has been based on independent investors spending money to field fast cars on racetracks. So for almost 8 decades of this sport’s existence, drivers have relied on large financial pools provided by sponsors. And by the end of 2024, Chandler Smith was certain that the side of his racing career was becoming thin.

In 2023, Quick Tie sponsored Smith in every race. Quick Tie’s sponsorship dropped to 15 races in his return to Toyota this season. To fill the missing sponsorship, Smith’s family stepped up with Smith General Contracting, sponsoring six races. Now Toyota has also left Smith’s side and left him the driver-free agency market.

So after failing to notch a win at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Chandler Smith laid down his verdict. NASCAR is an expensive sport: “There’s not really any seats left open. The only seats left open. You got to bring a big, big, big pocketbook with you. And I don’t have… I don’t have a big pocketbook.” 

The lack of a big pocketbook driving out a big talent like Smith is definitely scary. Leland Honeyman, Smith’s Xfinity rival in 2024, confessed his opinion about the situation. “This is scary for someone like me. Chandler is a winning driver. One of the best in Xfinity. I guarantee he brings a decent amount with him and he can’t even find anything.”

Yet now the tables seem to be turning for Chandler Smith. Hopefully, Spire Motorsports can count on the brilliant speedster in the team’s overhaul.