On Saturday, Sammy Smith, 18, became the youngest driver to win a NASCAR Xfinity Series race as he captured the checkered flag in the United Rentals 200 at Phoenix International Raceway in Glendale, Arizona. Smith led 92 laps in the event, including the last 52, after taking the lead from Kyle Busch on lap 149. Smith, who takes his high school classes online beat out his teammate, Ryan Truex for the win with Sheldon Creed rounding out the top 3.
While Sammy Smith was the winning driver, in NASCAR it is a team effort from the team at the shop preparing the race cars, to the mechanics turning the wrenches at the track, to the pit crew members who turn sub 13-second pitstops during the event. The #18 NASCAR Xfinity team includes Owensboro’s Alex Obryan, is in his second season as an interior specialist at Joe Gibbs Racing and his 2nd win in the organization. Alex went to victory lane in 2022 with driver, Brandon Jones at Martinsville.
Obryan’s responsibilities at the shop include making sure the quarter panels and other parts of the car line up with specifications per the NASCAR rule book. Alex says “The cars are put together when we receive them, so it’s a relatively short checklist for the quarter panels, roof flaps and other pieces before going to laser inspection, bring it back to the shop and bolt check the interior and rear of the car.”
Alex Obryan celebrates with the winning team in Phoenix.
On race day, Alex’s responsibilities include running the car through technical inspection, prepare the tires for the race and also buckle the driver into the car before the command to fire engines. When asked if rookie driver, Sam Smith is particular about anything in the interior, Obryan says Smith is pretty relaxed and has definitely been cool the last couple of weeks. “We started using a new brand of cool shirt that keeps the driver cool during hot race conditions. Even on a cool day, the cockpit of the car reaches 120 degrees. The cool shirt can keep the temperature as low as 40 degrees. This helps with the driver’s heart rate and keeping the driver comfortable in the car. The last two weeks, it’s froze Sam out.” Alex is impressed with his rookie driver and says, “Now that he (Sammy Smith) has his first race win jitters out of the way, he is going to be a force to be reckoned with.”
Obryan, a 2013 Apollo High School graduate now resides in Denver, NC with his fiancée Rachel, seven-year-old daughter Brooke and their ten-month-old son, Braxton. Alex has spent most of his adult career both tuning on and driving race cars. Alex resided in Nashville, TN. before moving to North Carolina in January 2021. During his time in Nashville, Alex served as both a car chief and driver for NASCAR legend and Daytona 500 champion, Sterling Marlin. Alex said, “When you work for Sterling, you spend half of the time wrangling cattle on the farm and the other half working on race cars.”
Alex with his fiancee’ Rachel, and children Brooke and Braxton.
Alex’s father, Kenny Obryan says “From a young age helping me with my race car, all he ever wanted to do is race. We told him to follow your dreams. Now every week, we are glued to the TV hoping to see him. He is a natural around race cars. From helping Sterling Marlin get back to victory lane, Taylor Gray in ARCA, Ryan Preece in truck series, and Brandon Jones last season in Xfinity. Alex puts his heart and soul into racing. I’m so proud of all the hard work and dedication he puts in following his dreams.”
Alex with his father, Kenny Obryan, right.
Alex, Sam and the 18-team head to Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend for the Raptor 250.
-Blake Smith, Host of Let’s Talk Racing
