Front Row Motorsports announced on Tuesday that their star driver Chandler Smith will not be returning in 2027. But the news of his departure was immediately followed by rumors of his potential future with Richard Childress Racing.

Chandler Smith, who drives the No. 38 Ford, is a strong championship contender in the Truck Series for FRM. He currently sits in 3^rd place with two wins this season, the latest coming at North Wilkesboro.

Which is why FRM’s general manager, Jerry Freeze, only had words of praise for the 24-year-old.

“We really like Chandler. He's done a great job helping get this 38 team off the ground, coming and agreeing to drive for us two years ago when we didn't even have a second truck team,” said Freeze, while speaking to SiriusXM Radio.

But then Freeze also made a statement that would fuel the rumors even more.

“We really would have liked to have him stay, but I think he thought there was a better opportunity out there for him, and he's going to pursue that. Certainly, no hard feelings on our side,” he added.

Freeze’s words bring some clarity that it wasn’t FRM; it was Smith’s choice. When FRM posted the news of his departure, The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi had tweeted, “The expectation is that Smith will sign with Richard Childress Racing to drive one of its O'Reilly Series entries.”

According to the rumors, Austin Hill is set to continue the full-time Cup driver role at RCR, which makes his No. 21 Chevy free. Smith has been looking forward to jumping up to the O’Reilly Series from the trucks, and hence he is a strong candidate to fill that seat.

A couple of days before the announcement of his departure, Smith had shared his feelings with NASCAR.com about his Cup Series future.

"I just want the Lord's will, whatever that means," Smith said. "If that's to race trucks for the rest of my life, that's what I want to do. If the Lord obviously presents me and pushes me into an opportunity that lands in my lap and is just there and it's pretty evident, then I want to just submit myself and be a vessel."

About Smith’s replacement

In the same talk, Freeze then addressed the mindset of the team who would step into the big shoes of Smith in the No. 38.

“In the meantime, we're looking at who's going to replace him in that truck. Our goal with this truck team all along, from beginning with Todd Gilliland, moving to Zane Smith, continuing on with Layne Riggs, was to have a guy driving that truck that can win those truck races, win championships for us, and potentially drive a Cup car on Sunday.

“We're going to use that same set of criteria to figure out who's going to drive it next, and I feel pretty good that we'll have somebody where we're still experiencing some more Victory Lanes."

Freeze's approach has worked well for them in the past. The organization developed drivers like Todd Gilliland and 2022 Truck Series champion Zane Smith into Cup racers. The current Truck standout Layne Riggs has also emerged as a future Sunday prospect.

Written by

Suyashdeep Sason

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason