INTERVIEW: Garrett Smithley and sponsor look to run more Cup races

Smithley before his first Southern 500 PHOTO: Brock Beard

In light of Kyle Busch’s comments about lapped traffic following Sunday’s race in Las Vegas, here’s an interview with Garrett Smithley prior to the Bojangles’ Southern 500, where he drove for Rick Ware Racing. Smithley has been racing for JD Motorsports in the XFINITY Series for four seasons in the popular #NumberNuthin. His best finish of 5th at Daytona came last year, leading to his Cup debut at Michigan. His best Cup finish came just last week at Indianapolis, where he ran 28th for Rick Ware Racing in the same #52 car he drove Sunday.

HOW HAVE THINGS BEEN THIS WEEKEND?
“It’s been great. The whole Rick Ware Racing team has been really easy to work with. Obviously, it’s my first start here with Rick, first start for the Southern 500, so it’s a pretty big deal. But I’m having a lot of fun so far.”

HAS YOUR XFINITY EXPERIENCE HELPED YOU PREPARE TO RUN YOUR FIRST SOUTHERN 500?
“I try to watch film, but of course, it’s a whole different package this year than last year. So I think as many laps as you can run on the track, that’s where you learn. I learned a lot yesterday from the XFINITY race so hopefully I can apply from here. I just want to keep it clean. That’s what it’s all about. Not coming in last (laughs). That’s the goal.”

TELL ME MORE ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP WITH QUICK OIL CHANGE.
“It kind of came from a mutual friend, we started to work together. We actually started talking two years ago, and last year they actually did something on my – they did something with StarCom, my first Cup debut. And they just grew it. They ran three races on XFINITY, gonna run three races here in Cup, we’ve got two more left with them. So hopefully we can work with them a bit more. They’ve just been awesome to work with. Really good people based in Michigan. They’re trying to sell franchises. So, if you want to get in the Quick Lane Oil Change business, Victory Lane Quick Oil Change. What better name than Victory Lane?”

YOUR FUTURE PLANS?
“Right now, Rick just called me up and said ‘hey, I want you to drive my car.’ So I’m trying to work out the details with Victory Lane, so I know we’re going to be running the Roval and Texas in the Cup car. Don’t know where yet, but still working on that – probably with Rick. But we’ll hopefully announce before too long.”