DES MOINES, Iowa– Although it took 18 years for Iowa to host its inaugural Cup Series race last year, the state has strong roots in the sport. For Sammy Smith, racing was a passion that started at a young age.  

“Starting go-kart, just kind of, moved along, to late models, ARCA, and then I went from ARCA to Xfinity. So, it’s been quite a journey,” said Smith.

A journey that brings Smith back to his home track this weekend, saying, “We had a really good car there last year, I feel like we’re in a good position to win, and I mean, it would mean everything to go there and win next week, and hopefully we can go do that.” 

At the start, Smith never imagined it would evolve into a full-fledged career. 

“I went from ARCA to Xfinity, so it was a pretty big jump, of kind of, not racing competitively, it was kind of competitive, but I made that jump from ARCA to Xfinity, and it was a big kind of eye opener,” said Smith.

Smith achieved major success during his time in ARCA, securing the 2022 ARCA Menards Series East championship.  

After his jump to Xfinity, Smith says he learned a lot in his first year, saying, “I think the biggest surprise I got coming into the Xfinity series was just how competitive everybody was… First through 15 is just very close on any given day, anyone can win, and there’s just minimal room for error.” 

But Smith found his stride, earning his first series victory at Phoenix Raceway, winning the 2023 spring race at only 18 years old, along with the Rookie of the Year award that same season. Now, his goal is to keep advancing in the sport.  

“My ultimate goal I think is to be a Cup series champion one day, and I feel like that’s something I have really strived to do throughout my career ever since I started in NASCAR that the end goal and what I want to accomplish, but I feel like right now I have a lot to accomplish in the Xfinity series, obviously I still want to win a lot of races the rest of the year and make it to the final four to compete for the NASCAR Xfinity Championship,” said Smith.

Smith secured his spot in the Xfinity playoffs from his win in Rockingham after Jesse Love’s car was disqualified in its post-race inspection. Smith is currently ranked 10th in the 2025 standings and placed 4th at the Iowa Speedway last year.