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Local Resident Wins Races

By Staff | Oct 24, 2012

A local race car driver is making somewhat of a name for himself in this, the first season he has ever competed.

After his first race in July, where he finished in the top five, Chad Smith of Sardis went on to enter four other competitions before winning his first championship Aug. 17 at Hilltop Motor Speedway in Marietta.

Buoyed by the win, he followed that up with six consecutive wins at the track to end the 2012 season – a big leap from the middle of the season that has pretty much amazed the racing world.

Smith’s interest in racing dates back to his early childhood, when his parents, Tim and Sharon of New Martinsville, began taking him to the local tracks on weekends. When he was in second grade, he announced that he wanted to become a “stock car driver” when he grew up, which his parents have documented with pictures and stories he wrote about his fascination with racing.

His early idols were Keith Rush and Steve Steele. He would wash Steele’s vehicle every weekend, save his money, and start a collection of race cars which remain in their original boxes to this day. As Smith grew older, his passion for racing intensified.

Then, as would surely happen, Smith acquired his first race car in May of this year. A “HotMod,” or hybrid, that combines the economy of pure stock suspension with basic and standard construction found in Modified vehicles.

He, his dad, and Kip Steel began the long process of preparing it to become race ready. He chose the number 10S and named the car “Dreams Do Come True,” as his had, indeed.

So far, Smith has picked up two local sponsors, Blake’s Auto Glass and Fast Eddy’s Autobody, for whose support he is grateful.

Smith, a 1999 graduate of Magnolia High School, can be reached at 304-771-6107 or 740-525-7003.