Legends Champion
By Todd Wood
Andrew Smith is not your ordinary average twenty year old. He does ordinary average things like attend college, hang out with friends and family and he enjoys racing. What’s not so average, in fact way above average, is the number of races he has won on tracks throughout the state and nation.
With well over 200 wins to his name, Smith added his best victory yet on October 4 in Elko, Minnesota.
The lifetime Pooler resident drove his Clay Hair Motorsports 1937 Sedan to a national championship victory at the 17th Annual Legends Asphalt Nationals at Elko Speedway.
Patience was a virtue for Smith in the race. Early in the race Andrew had to make a quick decision, one that ultimately kept him from being taken out altogether. “We were in turn four on the tenth lap when a driver hit the wall, bounced off and was headed on what could have been a race ending collision for us,” said Andrew. “So I had to drop down a gear and diverted to the inner loop of the raceway. I could have chanced it and possibly came out in second, but I chose to play it smart and let the other driver back in ahead of me.”
The penalty handed to Smith, put him back in fourth, and that is where he remained for the next seven laps. Smith’s quick instincts prevailed again when the second and third place cars collided just in front of him, taking each other out of the race.
With Smith now in second place of the 50-lap race on a 3/8 mile oval, his knowledge of when to race and when not to race was tested again. For a third time, Smith had dodged another bullet. The crash put Smith in first place. Smith would then lead the final twenty laps for his first national championship.
“We ran pretty consistent, and that is our main focus every time we go out to race,” said Smith. “You can’t go out there and try to win the race on the first couple laps. It felt great to win a race that saw a lot of competitive driving.”
The key was obviously Smith’s knowledge of racing. In the eighties his father and grandfather raced go-karts out at Pineora Raceway. Many nights, when Andrew was a baby, he would sleep in a go-kart seat in the garage while his father and grandfather worked on the little speedsters.
“I was born into it I guess,” said Smith. “It was only natural for me to start racing when I got old enough.”
Old enough was in 1996 when Andrew was just eight years old. It wasn’t long after he began racing go-karts that his winning ways begun. Thanks to his father Edwin’s knowledge of knowing how to race, the apple didn’t fall very far from the tree.
“The key is being patient and knowing when to race,” said father Edwin Smith. “You can’t just go out there and try to win the race in the first three or four laps. There are times in a race when you have to know when to race, and Andrew is good and knowing when to go after it.”
The Smith’s philosophy helps with winning, but it also helps with budget issues in a sport which can be very expensive. Andrew’s Legend, number 62, cost nearly $20,000 before the labor of making it race ready. Of course, the less contact a driver has with walls and other cars, the less money and maintenance are needed. And, while Smith has had his share of collisions, he tries to make it few by driving smart.
“It takes an awful lot of money,” said his father. “Andrew is good in the car though, and it helps when we’re not making a lot of repairs.”
Over the years, Smith has accomplished a lot for such a young driver. When the track at Hardeeville was still open, he won more races there than any other driver. He was also the first driver, and the only since, to win five races in a row at Hardeeville.
Over the years, he has progressed from go-karts to Legends - winning one of his first few races in each of the divisions. He also won his first race ever with his 600 horsepower stock car. However, he prefers racing the Legends because of how challenging it is.
“We’ve been pretty fortunate,” says Smith. “I think a lot of drivers and their crews make their mistake in how they work on the cars. The key is to take the same car to the track every week.”
Smith’s knowledge in the shop has served him well with his driving philosophy on the track. In his third year at Armstrong Atlantic State, he is majoring in mechanical engineering. “I like the mechanical aspects of anything,” says Smith. “It’s fun working with the parts that make something run or perform. For now, that is the direction I’m headed.”
While he and his grandfather do most of the work on the car, his father is the financial support, and the three travel to racing events all year long with their 48-foot trailer and duel pickup truck pulling.
This race season is almost over, with one more race he says he will talk his dad into. Next year, Smith knows he will be the driver everyone is gunning for. Smith knows he will just be focused on when to race.
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