Kaulig Racing has confirmed that driver Chandler Smith will not return to the organization for the 2024 NASCAR season.
Smith is currently a full-time driver for the team in the Xfinity Series driving the No. 16 Chevrolet. Smith is seventh in the playoff standings earning a win, three poles, eight top five and 12 top-10 finishes on the season. He finds himself in a need to win position at Martinsville in order to advance in the Xfinity Series playoffs.
Kaulig will be announcing it’s driver lineup for 2024 in the coming weeks. It is currently unclear as to what the organization’s roster will look like or which series drivers such as AJ Allmendinger will be competing int.
Earlier this year Justin Haley announced that he would move over to Rick Ware Racing for the 2024 Cup Series season.
An announcement regarding Smith from Joe Gibbs Racing is expected for Monday.
Allegedly Smith was required to pay a buyout of his contract with Kaulig Racing. Smith signed a three year deal with Kaulig but will not drive for the team in the remaining two years.
A move to JGR would return Smith to the Toyota camp whose banner he competed under as a member of Kyle Busch Motorsports in the 2022 truck series season.
Smith has also driven in three Cup Series races for Kaulig this season and while he has not scored a top-10 does have an average finish of 14.3 for the team.
