Chandler Smith to Attempt 2025 Daytona 500 with Garage 66

Chandler Smith, a three-time winner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, will attempt to qualify for the 2025 Daytona 500, piloting the No. 66 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for the newly-rebranded Garage 66 (formerly known as MBM Motorsports).

The Talking Rock, Georgia-native, who will compete full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Front Row Motorsports in 2025, got the nod to compete in 'The Great American Race' after 65-year-old Mike Wallace was not approved for NASCAR Cup Series competition.

"I'm very excited for the opportunity to race our way into the Daytona 500 with Garage 66," said Chandler Smith. "Being in The Great American Race is such an honor, and I can't think QuickTie and Carl Long enough for helping put this all together."

The 22-year-old driver has previous experience in the NextGen car on superspeedways, notching a top-15 result in the 2023 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona. Smith has recorded top-20 results in each of his three NASCAR Cup Series starts, all with Kaulig Racing.

NASCAR NASCAR Cup Series Chandler Smith — Chandler Smith's No. 66 QuickTie Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Garage 66. | Photo: Garage 66

"The last few days have been a whirlwind of phone calls and emails after Mike Wallace was not approved to be the driver of our Daytona 500 entry," said Carl Long. "After several days of non-stop communication with available drivers who could race a Ford, the pieces came together to put Chandler Smith in our car."

"I am super pleased to have Chandler in our seat," Long continued. "He has friends behind the wheel of the other cars. At Daytona, we will need all the friends we can find to help race our way into the show. There are a lot of really quality cars attempting this race, which could easily make the most exciting part of the 2025 Daytona 500, the race to be in the race. With Roush-Yates power and Chandler behind the wheel, the odds of Garage 66 and our No. 66 team making the event just got stronger.”

QuickTie, a proprietary, patented hold-down system for high wind and seismic construction. Quick Tie Products, which just celebrated its 25th anniversary, manufactures and distributes the QuickTie System and a full line of framing hardware for both single-family and multi-family construction.

Coble Enterprises, which specializes in personalized property management for residential and commercial properties, remains committed to the No. 66 team in Daytona as an associate sponsor.

The NASCAR Cup Series action during Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway begins with practice and single-car qualifying on Wednesday, February 12. The Duels at Daytona will take place on Thursday, February 13, which set the lineup for the Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 16.

Coverage of the event will be at 2:30 PM ET on FOX, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.