Sammy Smith enters Saturday’s race at Las Vegas tied for sixth in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase with 2,143 points. Smith trails championship leader Sheldon Creed by 92 points, with Corey Day holding sixth ahead of him on the standings tiebreaker.
Smith remained inside the top 10 at Bristol despite never becoming a central part of the battle for victory. The JR Motorsports driver finished 10th, limiting the damage while Creed scored his second victory through the opening three Chase races. Smith sits 14 points behind Sam Mayer for fifth and 12 ahead of Taylor Gray.
Las Vegas presents one of Smith’s better opportunities to make up ground. He finished fifth at the track in March, making him one of the highest-finishing points-eligible regulars.
Smith earned 32 points that afternoon. With his championship deficit already at 92 points, another top-five Vegas performance would be valuable as the Chase moves deeper into the fall.
This article originally appeared on Motorsports Wire: Sammy Smith needs win at Las Vegas to put himself in title fight
