Story byMotorsport photoMatt WeaverSat, February 14, 2026 at 5:11 AM UTC·5 min readFaith is a fundamental component to who Chandler Smith is as a man, father, husband and racer, so it comes to no surprise that he leaned on his convictions in articulating the range of emotions from missing the Daytona 500 to winning in the Truck Series 24 hours later.“Truthfully, I pray a certain prayer before every race, and most of my prayers are very consistent in the certain sense of I'm always going to submit myself to the Lord's plan and whatever His will is for me,” Smith said. “And I am a firm believer that I wasn't meant to be in the Daytona 500 -- 110 percent. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“Once again, like I said, it's a consistent thing that I pray about is I just want to submit myself to God and His divine will for me. When I reflect back from my career from start to finish, all the trials and tribulations, all the highs I've been through, when I reflect back and look, I see God's hand, His provident hand in every single thing that that I've done, all the lessons that I've learned, even in life.”That isn’t to say that Smith doesn’t get disappointed or frustrated in that process but he expressed conviction that it’s not his path to dictate.
