TOGETHER, WE WIN!

Mike Smith carries family tradition, wins first Super Nationals

Editor’s Note: The following feature story is the second part of a two-piece series spotlighting Smith Family Racing, consisting of David, Donavon, Devin, Doug, Dustin and Mike Smith of Lake City.

For one week in early September, the International Motor Contest Association draws in drivers from across the United States and the globe to the Boone Speedway for a multitude of races – which range from Modifieds and Northern SportMods to Hobby Stocks and Stock Cars.

It starts with the Prelude to the Super Nationals and concludes with the “The Big Dance,” a main event feature usually held at the tail end of the final day of the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals. In between, there are countless qualifying heats and features.

Complementing the heats and features is the work and modifications made to the vehicles, from last minute adjustments and visits to the tech tent to double-checking and triple-checking the car. 

Super Nationals Week makes for a long stretch for both man and machine.

While it can be nerve racking for many drivers, the pressure never bothered Lake City’s Mike Smith. Instead, he thrives in such a stressful environment.

According to his father, David Smith, the 17-year-old is almost too calm within the whirlwind of racing.

Nonetheless, Mike’s cool demeanor paid off in spades.

Starting at seventh in the 2021 IMCA Hobby Stock “Race of Champions,” which took place on Sept. 11 at the Boone Speedway, Mike climbed the ladder to immortality and became the youngest Super Nationals champion in division history.

The journey to greatness started on Sept. 6, and as the week progressed, David, Donavon Smith and Devin Smith joined Mike.

“I started seventh in a qualifier and got third in that,” Mike said, recalling the week. “I qualified for the ‘Race of Champions’ on Tuesday, where I started up front and won that. I started fifth and finished fourth. Then, in ‘The Big Dance,’ I started in seventh and won it all.”

When it came to the “The Big Dance,” Mike was technically in the third row on the inside. Compared to other nights where it’s two cars wide, it was three cars wide at the title race.

“I knew that, during the ‘Race of Champions,’ I had to stay low,” Mike said, resorting to the Smith Family’s bread and butter of hugging the interior of the dirt track. “The track had some water on it, which made it a little muddy. I started low, and began to move up as the race went on. I passed the top guy when the yellow flag came out, and I got lucky.”

Cedar Rapids’ Kaden Reynolds led for 20 laps, before Mike made his move to the front of the pack on Lap 21 restart. By the final yellow flag, Mike cemented his lead and claimed the Smith Family’s seventh championship.

In racing, there is a balance between the driver being at the top of their game and the car being at the top of its game. This is mixed in with a healthy dosage of luck.

That Saturday night, the stars aligned in Mike’s favor.

“You have to have the luck to get there,” David said. “Then, you have to have the talent to seal the deal. It takes more than luck. On Saturday night, Mike was just amazing.”

When Mike hopped out of the car, David – a 14-time qualifier for the Stock Car main event – greeted his son with a giant hug.

“I tried to win Super Nationals for 19 years, and I still haven’t gotten it done,” David said. “But Mike did it on his third try. He has the equipment and the talent. Everybody knew that Mike has been good all year. When it’s your time, it’s your time.”

“The car was perfect all night,” David continued. “It never pushed, and it never got loose. It was dead on.”

While waiting in the wings, David was a bit anxious, admitting to pacing back and forth between the Hobby Stock race and his signature No. 8 car.

“I was way more nervous than he was,” said David of Mike’s mindset during the final day of Super Nationals. “He doesn’t show much emotion, and calmly says, ‘yeah, I had a good race.’”

It was even to the point where an IMCA representative asked for Mike to appear more excited as he pulled into Victory Lane. It brought out laughs out of father and son when recollected, a great story to add to the Smith Family Racing lore.

Throughout Super Nationals Week, the Smiths clawed their way into the final features of the season.

It started with Devin punching his ticket to “The Big Dance,” followed by Donavon. Doug and David battled through qualifiers and heats all the way, but only David earned a shot at the final main event.

“I barely got in,” David said. “It’s tough, and there’s a lot of cars.”

According to David, there were more than 900 cars registered. Out of 219 stock cars, the three brothers – David, Donavon and Devin – were among the final 30 left by the main event.

“That’s a pretty good percentage,” David said. “It was a really good week, but it was a long week, though. With the harvest coming early, it stressed us out a little more than normal.”

In the 2021 Stock Car Championship, Devin placed third, followed by David’s eighth place showing.

The ending of Mike’s season was as storybook ending as one could get, as the senior at South Central Calhoun High School had claimed the Hobby Stock championship at the Buena Vista Speedway in Alta. However, Mike’s first Super Nationals left him wanting a little more come next season.

“I’d like to get two track titles, but it doesn’t matter where they are,” Mike said. “Another challenge will be in putting the new car together.”

That new car is currently in the shop, and will be ready during the winter. The new car will be right next to Mike when he takes senior pictures.

David noted that his son has done so much in such a short amount of time.

“Mike has accomplished so much and has done so at such a young age,” said David. “I don’t want him to be discouraged if things don’t go well two years from now. It happens, you have good years, you have bad years and in some years, you’re in between. But, I do believe that he works hard enough to continue getting better.”

Going forward, Mike wants to win more races that he had in the previous racing season.

This past year, he had claimed checkered flags in 13 races. Winning 13 races in one season is quite rare, as many drivers have never won that many in their respective careers.

Come 2022, Mike is gunning for 15 first place finishes. Should he achieve that goal, the first of the new generation of Smiths would be tickled.

It plays well into the Smiths’ overall goal, which is to finish in the top spot or near the top spot in every single race that they compete in.

“We want to contend in every race,” David said. “We’re known everywhere, and we want to keep that going. We want to build fast cars. If we’re not winning, we’re at least right there.”