Bizarre day ends with Regan Smith back in NASCAR Sprint Cup ride

HAMPTON, GA - AUGUST 31: Regan Smith, driver of the #7 TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet, stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Nationwide Series Great Clips/Grit Chips 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on August 31, 2013 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Regan Smith (Getty Images)
Regan Smith (Getty Images)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – In a somewhat surprising turn of events in a single day Thursday Tommy Baldwin Racing removed a driver the team owner recently praised and signed for 2016 and replaced him with a veteran who has been out of a full time ride in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series since 2012.

Early Thursday Tommy Baldwin Racing issued a short press release to announce they had parted ways with Alex Bowman. Last summer team owner Tommy Baldwin had praised the young driver and indicated that he had picked up Bowman’s option for 2016.  The team recently announced that Toy State and their Nikko RC and Road Rippers brands will serve as the majority sponsor for the season and indicated that Bowman would be driving for the independent, low-budget operation. That all changed Thursday and by the evening, Regan Smith was named the driver of the No. 7 Chevrolet in 2016.

“This is a really great time for us,” said Baldwin in an emailed press release.MORE>>>

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.