C. W. "Skip" Smith (October 28, 1947 – November 4, 2017) was an American
stock car racing driver and Pennsylvania
state trooper who previously ran 7
NASCAR Xfinity Series races and 24
ARCA Racing Series
The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three nationa ...
races between 1994 and 2005.
Racing career
Smith drove in 24 ARCA Racing Series races from 1994 to 2004 in his self-owned #67 Chevrolet. Never running more than four races in one season, Smith finished as high as 66th in points (in 1996) and failed to qualify just once in his 22 attempts. He finished his ARCA career following 2004, having run on just three different tracks (
Daytona Daytona refers to the city of Daytona Beach, Florida, or things named after it.
Daytona may also refer to:
Locations
* Daytona Beach Shores, Florida
* South Daytona, Florida
* The Daytona Beach metropolitan area
* Halifax area, also known as Da ...
,
Talladega, and his native
Pocono), posting six top-tens (with a best finish of 6th), and nine DNFs in 21 career races.
Smith took his ARCA team up to the NASCAR Busch Series beginning in 1999. Along with Daytona and Talladega (Pocono not being on the schedule), he would also attempt races at
Rockingham and
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
. He would attempt 15 races between 1999 and 2005, making the field seven of those times.
Acquiring sponsorship from
Panasonic
formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka. It was founded by Kōnosuke Matsushita in 1918 as a lightbulb ...
for the 2002 season,
he is perhaps best known for his performance in that year's
Aaron's 312 at Talladega. Making it through
The Big One on lap 15 that took out 27 cars, Smith was running in the top 10 for most of the race until overheating issues ended his day on lap 75 of 117. Despite the DNF, Smith would still finish the race in 13th, his best finish in the series.
Smith would retire following the 2005 season, ending his career with two top-15 finishes and six DNFs.
Personal life
Smith was a graduate of
Williamsport Area Community College and the
Pennsylvania State Police Academy, serving as a Pennsylvania state trooper for 35 years. His son Jason Smith won the Pro Stock track championship at
Selinsgrove Speedway
Selinsgrove Speedway (nicknamed The Fastest Half-Mile on The East Coast, Auto Racing's Showcase since 1946) is a high-banked clay dirt oval south of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania.
in 2009.
Smith died of
leukemia
Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...
on November 4, 2017.
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(
key) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Busch Series
ARCA Re/Max Series
(
key) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, C. W.
1947 births
2017 deaths
Sportspeople from Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Racing drivers from Pennsylvania
NASCAR drivers
American state police officers
ARCA Menards Series drivers