Chandler Smith looking to regain momentum after summer slump

Chandler Smith started the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series season off as a championship favorite, but he's slipped a bit over the summer. 

Over the last eight races, Smith has gone from being the Xfinity Series points leader to trailing points leader Cole Custer by 100 points. Smith currently sits fourth in the standings, and over that eight-race stretch, he's only collected three top-10 finishes. 

Not all of the No. 81 team's shortcomings have been Smith's fault - engine issues plagued him at Chicago, and a lap one crash ended his competitive day at Indianapolis - but middling runs at New Hampshire and Pocono have made it clear that there is a problem inside the Joe Gibbs Racing shop. 

Smith won two of the first six races of the 2024 season and had seven consecutive top-10 finishes to start the year. Since then? Only four top-10s in 13 races, a stretch that has seen Smith fall off the championship radars of many in favor of Cole Custer and Justin Allgaier. 

Smith has also been overtaken in points by his early-season rival in Austin Hill, while Indianapolis winner Riley Herbst sits just 43 points back of Smith with six regular-season races remaining. 

Once the playoffs roll around in the fall, Smith should absolutely be considered as a title threat - but there's work to do over the Olympic break if the No. 81 team wants to start contending for wins again. 

The Xfinity Series' next race will be at the Michigan International Speedway on Aug. 17.