Regan Smith offered extension with Furniture Row
Regan Smith has been offered a contract extension with Furniture Row Racing.
Although the contract has not been signed yet, Smith says, “I’m very comfortable here and want to keep working on moving forward. I feel very good about Furniture Row. We’ve made a lot of progress over the last (year) and they’re at the point where things are really starting to take off.
“I feel confident with the direction the team is taking and feel the recent results are not indicative of what we’re capable of doing together in the future.”
Smith, 26, has forged a patient path with NASCAR Sprint Cup team owner Barney Visser and Furniture Row. After being named rookie of the year in 2008 and nearly winning the fall Talladega event the same season for Dale Earnhardt Inc., Smith moved to FRM. Smith made 18 starts his first season in the No. 78 Chevrolet.
This year, the organization returned to full-time competition. The team’s engineering department developed a program to polish up Smith’s driving skills.
“Early in the going, we were working hard to improve our race cars and Regan, too, worked hard on his driving style to adapt to those cars,” said Furniture Row general manager Joe Garone. “Through exhaustive testing and working with our engineering group we’ve been able to make positive gains.”
Smith is currently 30th in the Sprint Cup standings. His best finish this season was 14th at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The team started the season with rookie crew chief/engineer Ryan Coniam but replaced him with veteran Pete Rondeau after the Charlotte Motor Speedway races in May.
The organization has benefited from a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing this season and will run Earnhardt Childress Racing engines in 2011.
