R. J. Smotherman (born March 27, 2005) is an American professional stock car racing driver who competes part-time in the ARCA Menards Series West, driving the No. 46 Ford for Lowden Jackson Motorsports and the No. 38 Chevrolet for Kart Idaho Racing, and part-time in both the ARCA Menards Series East and the main ARCA Menards Series driving for Lowden Jackson.
| R. J. Smotherman | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Smotherman at All American Speedway in 2023 | |||||||
| Born | R. J. Smotherman March 27, 2005 Pahrump, Nevada | ||||||
| ARCA Menards Series career | |||||||
| 1 race run over 1 year | |||||||
| ARCA no., team | No. 46 (Lowden Jackson Motorsports) | ||||||
| Best finish | 115th (2023) | ||||||
| First race | 2023 General Tire 150 (Phoenix) | ||||||
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| ARCA Menards Series East career | |||||||
| 1 race run over 1 year | |||||||
| ARCA East no., team | No. 46 (Lowden Jackson Motorsports) | ||||||
| Best finish | 35th (2023) | ||||||
| First race | 2023 Pensacola 200 (Pensacola) | ||||||
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| ARCA Menards Series West career | |||||||
| 7 races run over 2 years | |||||||
| ARCA West no., team | No. 46 (Lowden Jackson Motorsports) | ||||||
| Best finish | 17th (2023) | ||||||
| First race | 2022 NAPA Auto Parts ARCA West 150 (Evergreen) | ||||||
| Last race | 2023 Salute to the Oil Industry NAPA Auto Parts 150 (Bakersfield) | ||||||
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| Statistics current as of May 18, 2023. | |||||||
Racing career
editSmotherman started competing in bandoleros in 2013 at the age of eight.[1] In 2022, Smotherman would make select starts in both the West Coast Sport Compact Series and the Lucas Oil Modified Series.[2]
On August 20, 2022, Smotherman would make his debut in the ARCA Menards Series West at Evergreen Speedway driving the No. 21 Ford for Lowden Motorsports, where he would start 13th and finish 15th due to handling issues.[3] He would then make three more starts with the team later in the year, earning his first top-ten finish at All-American Speedway with a seventh-place finish.
On February 28, 2023, it was announced that Smotherman would run with the renamed Lowden Jackson Motorsports in the No. 46 Ford full-time in the ARCA Menards Series West. He is also announced to run select events in the ARCA Menards Series East.[4] He would also make his debut in the main ARCA Menards Series at Phoenix Raceway in March, as it was a companion event with the West Series. After running the first three races, he would be replaced for the next two rounds at Portland International Raceway and Sonoma Raceway by Kyle Sieg and Stefan Rzesnowiecky respectively. After withdrawing from the second Irwindale Speedway race, he would move over to Kart Idaho Racing in the No. 38 Chevrolet at All American Speedway, where he would finish eighth.
Personal life
editSmotherman currently attends at the Pahrump Valley High School and is intending on attending college at Great Basin College in Elko, Nevada.[1]
Motorsports career results
editARCA Menards Series
edit(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.)
| ARCA Menards Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | AMSC | Pts | Ref |
| 2023 | Lowden Jackson Motorsports | 46 | Ford | DAY | PHO 29 |
TAL | KAN | CLT | BLN | ELK | MOH | IOW | POC | MCH | IRP | GLN | ISF | MLW | DSF | KAN | BRI | SLM | TOL | 115th | 15 | [5] |
ARCA Menards Series East
edit| ARCA Menards Series East results | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | AMSEC | Pts | Ref |
| 2023 | Lowden Jackson Motorsports | 46 | Ford | FIF 9 |
DOV | NSV | FRS | IOW | IRP | MLW | BRI | 35th | 35 | [6] |
ARCA Menards Series West
edit| ARCA Menards Series West results | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | AMSWC | Pts | Ref | |||
| 2022 | Lowden Motorsports | 21 | Ford | PHO | IRW | KCR | PIR | SON | IRW | EVG 15 |
PIR | 21st | 156 | [7] | |||||||
| Chevy | AAS 7 |
LVS 22 |
PHO 26 |
||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Lowden Jackson Motorsports | 46 | Ford | PHO 29 |
IRW 15 |
KCR 16 |
PIR | SON | IRW Wth |
SHA | EVG | 17th | 142 | [8] | |||||||
| Kart Idaho Racing | 38 | Chevy | AAS 8 |
||||||||||||||||||
| Toyota | LVS 10 |
MAD Wth |
PHO Wth | ||||||||||||||||||
References
edit- ^ a b "Get to Know ARCA West Series Driver RJ Smotherman". Kickin' the Tires. October 5, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
- ^ "R. J. Smotherman". The Third Turn. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
- ^ "ARCA WEST: Handling issues strike Smotherman as Pedroncelli's absence leads to a new last-place finisher". LASTCAR.info. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
- ^ "Lowden-Jackson Motorsports Announces Drivers for ARCA East and West Races in 2023". Racing Today. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
- ^ "R. J. Smotherman – 2023 ARCA Menards Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
- ^ "R. J. Smotherman – 2023 ARCA Menards Series East Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
- ^ "R. J. Smotherman – 2022 ARCA Menards Series West Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
- ^ "R. J. Smotherman – 2023 ARCA Menards Series West Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
External links
edit- R. J. Smotherman driver statistics at Racing-Reference