TOGETHER, WE RACE!

Smith Racing finishes season strong, prep for IMCA Super Nationals

Editor’s Note: The following feature story is the first part of a two-piece series spotlighting Smith Family Racing, consisting of David, Donavon, Devin, Doug, Dustin and Mike Smith of Lake City. The second part of the series will be featured in an upcoming edition of The Graphic-Advocate.

It was a sticky Saturday afternoon at the Smith family farm, located four miles northwest of Lake City.

A sense of calm washed over, as final adjustments were made before four representatives of the Smith family – beginning with Dustin welding together a customized chassis in the northernmost portion of the garage.

David, Donavon, Devin and Mike, already on the downhill slope of a busy week, take their time in getting cleaned up before loading their racecars for their upcoming trip to Boone. In this moment of calm, they all share smiles, laughs and family camaraderie.

Just three days prior, Mike – who just entered his senior year at South Central Calhoun High School – had secured his first Season Championship at the Buena Vista Speedway in Alta. It’s just his third full season, and the first of a new generation of Smith drivers.

It wasn’t easy, but it was earned.

“I had a good year at the beginning, but towards the middle, I started to struggle a little bit,” said Mike, touching on his championship season at Alta. “I wrecked on the last night, but I still won by one point. Even though I had some motor problems, I had a good year.”

For the moment, it’s just the four of them.

Doug Smith, who also calls Lake City home, had already left for the Home of the International Motor Contest Association’s (IMCA) Super Nationals. After all, Doug was the first family member to race in the track’s Season Championships, held on August 28.

The Season Championships are a night consisting of only features, proverbial main events into themselves. A typical racing night, a driver could tell you, is made up of heats before shifting over to features.

It makes for a very long night at the track.

Fast forward a few hours later, and the Smiths had set up their camp at the northwestern edge of the pits, stationed behind the track. They make sure that the tires are in good shape, with plenty of gas in the tank.

Doug, the lone family member who races in the Modified class, is situated on the other side of the oval.

As Doug enters the track, an oval one-third of a mile long with steep banks at each of its four corners, several family members take to the catwalk for a view of the action. They observe as Doug climbs his way from 13th overall to a fifth place finish.

Despite ending the season 17th in the points standings, Doug had a solid year. All together, Doug took part in 13 features with sixth top 10 placements and three top five finishes.

As the sun traveled below the horizon and the lights of the speedway begin to illuminate the track below, the Smiths start to make last minute fixes. The sequence involves checking and double-checking tires, opening the hood, making an adjustment here and there.

The moves are life lessons, in a quest to achieve the fragile harmony between man and machine. When that balance is acquired, glory arrives through checkered flags, victory laps and elaborate trophies.

“It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be better than everyone else’s car that night,” Donavon said.

Some quiet moments pass until David, Donavon and Devin to hop in their vehicles and head to the track. Before the green light can be given, the top 10 drivers are introduced to the crowd, who are seated on the speedway’s south grandstand.

The second to final race of the night, the Arnold Motor Supply IMCA Stock Cars, is where the three of the four brothers are prominent. Between David, Donavon and Devin, there are multiple IMCA National Championships between them.

Donavon, commandeering his blue and gold 35, held the pole position of the feature. Four spots behind was David, driving his signature 8 car. Devin, who sported the black and pink 81 car, started his laps in seventh place.

When the checkered flag was waved in 25 furious laps, Devin claimed first place, followed by Donavon in second and David in third.

It was a good night for the brothers.

Donavon had locked down the season title, which was his second consecutive championship in Boone. Although he had taking top billing twice, Donavon was consistently brilliant, with 13 top 10 finishes and 12 top five showings in 19 races.

David captured the checkered flag on three occasions, alongside nine top five outings and 12 top 10 finishes in 17 features. This placed David, who started his career with figure-eight racing, fifth overall in the final points standings.

“I still think that the older you get, the slower you get,” David said. “I don’t know why. You weigh your options more, I think.”

“Then, there’s certain nights where the son of a gun is pulling away from us,” Donavon said, chiming in to incite laughter.

Two spots behind in the overall is Devin, who racked up five wins, 10 top five placements and 12 top 10 finishes in 15 features.

To the three brothers, it doesn’t matter the order, as long as they can go home one, two and three. They also seek to instill a little fear into their opponents.

“I just like it when we show up to a track and other drivers say, ‘oh great, they’re here,’” David said. “That’s what I always want to see.”

At 10 p.m., it was Mike’s turn to race. Much like his father and uncles, the youngest of the Smiths was formally introduced in a pre-race ceremony. Once pleasantries were finished, Mike put on his helmet and got to work.

Starting at eighth place, Mike climbed the ladder and passed opponents, eventually battling neck-and-neck with Minburn’s Solomon Bennett – the overall winner of the race. Then, Mike struck a snag.

The black and pink 22X slowed slightly for a moment, as Mike believed that the white flag – a signal for the final lap of the race – was the checkered flag. The young driver recovered, however, but had to settle for third place.

“I thought that I was actually going to win that one,” Mike said. “I thought that it was a checkered flag, but realized in a hurry that it wasn’t. But, I was door-to-door with him.”

When Mike rolled back to the trailer, he was met with some friendly banter. Just as it was earlier in the day, the smiles and laughter were contagious among the family.

The night closed with the Smiths loading their cars back into their trailers and making the drive back to the farm. But, they wouldn’t be away from their cars for very long.

By Sunday afternoon, everyone was back in the garage to tinker with their vehicles and prepare for Super Nationals Week. The international showcase, which brings in drivers from across the country and beyond, starting with the Prelude to the Super Nationals, scheduled for this past Saturday night in Boone.