Regan Smith tweets he won't be in JR Motorsports' No. 7 car in '16
Regan Smith is on the way out at JR Motorsports -- at least of the No. 7 car.
The veteran driver made the news of the imminent change known with the following tweet recently sent from his personal Twitter account:
“I know I’m not going to be back to JR Motorsports next year for sure,’’ Smith told NBC Sports on-air reporter Marty Snider after finishing fifth in last Saturday's XFINITY Series race at Kansas Speedway. “I want to go out strong at the end. Certainly it’s been a good three years so we want to have a good last three races.’’
Smith joined the Dale Earnhardt Jr.-co-owned organization as a full-time XFINITY Series driver in 2013 after winning the 2012 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in his debut with JR Motorsports.
Smith, a former full-time Sprint Cup driver who has one victory in 176 career starts in NASCAR's top series, won twice in his first full season as driver of JRM's No. 7 Chevy in the XFINITY Series, en route to a third-place finish in the standings.
Last year, Smith finished second in the standings behind teammate Chase Elliott on the strength of one win and 26 top-10 finishes in 33 starts.
The native of Cato, New York has also enjoyed a strong 2015, recording two wins, 11 top fives and 23 top-10 finishes in 30 starts so far this season. Smith is third in the standings, 33 points behind Chris Buescher and six behind Elliott, with three races remaining.
