David Smith, although an underdog, has been a staple of the ARCA Menards Series West over the last three seasons, fielding the No. 05 Shockwave Marine Suspension Toyota Camry.
Smith has never been to Victory Lane, or even finished inside the top-five for that matter, but the 76-year-old driver is one of the few people who continue to show up and compete in the ARCA Menards Series West.
So, it’s nice to see there be some sort of payoff for Smith, like there was in Saturday’s Tucson ARCA Menards Series West 150 at Tucson Speedway, with some history made for the Sidney, British Columbia-native.
In an event that saw the majority of the field saving tires for a late-race sprint to the finish, Smith chose to employ an alternate strategy with his Shockwave Racing team, driving to the front of the pack and taking the lead from Cole Denton at Lap 50.
Smith paced the field for 19 laps before the caution flag was displayed (for Will Robinson’s No. 70 Toyota Camry stopped on the racetrack). That ultimately botched that strategy, bunching the field back together, and cost the red-and-black No. 05 the race.
Things went downhill after that caution, though, as Smith was swarmed by the leaders who decided the time to save tires was over, eventually getting sent through the grass in Turn 4 after contact with Mia Lovell.
“It was good until it wasn’t,” Smith said. “Got a caution when we shouldn’t, caution hurt us, and then running off the track didn’t help that. The wheels fell off the bus, but we had a good run going, and I was going to run and hide, and it just didn’t work out.”
At 76, Smith is now the oldest driver to lead a lap in the ARCA Menards Series West, dethroning a 28-year-old record held by Hershel McGriff — who last led laps in the West Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (the 1.5-mile speedway) in 1998.
Adding to the importance of Smith’s laps led on Saturday at Tucson, it’s the first time a Canadian-born driver has led in the West Series since Cameron Hayley paced the field during his full-time campaign in 2013.
“We’ve worked three years for this, guys worked really hard. Thanks to everybody, everybody watching, and thanks for all the work you do, thanks to Toyota, and thanks everybody, this feels really good.”
In 42 starts in the ARCA Menards Series West, Smith has a best finish of 10th three times, including the season-opener at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway in Bakersfield, California.
