JR Motorsports taps Regan Smith for full 2013 Nationwide season

Regan Smith, driver of the #88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 11, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Smith is replacing Dale Earnhardt Jr. who will miss two races after suffering a concussion from a wreck in Talladega last week. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Regan Smith, driver of the #88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 11, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Smith is replacing Dale Earnhardt Jr. who will miss two races after suffering a concussion from a wreck in Talladega last week. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Regan Smith will compete fulltime in the NASCAR Nationwide series for JR Motorsports in 2013 racing the No. 5 Chevy.

Smith will make his JRM debut this year however, as the company will field three teams for the Nov. 17 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Smith will join teammates Cole Whitt and Danica Patrick in the season finale.

“This is an extremely good opportunity for me,” Smith said. “Dale Jr. and I first started talking about this several years ago, but the timing never matched up to where we could make it happen. Now it’s time. I’m happy to be a part of this organization. I don’t want to just win races. I want to be the team that dominates races and contends for the championship.”

Smith was released from the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevy last month. He will spilt duties in the Sprint Cup series with driver AJ Allmendinger in the No. 51 Chevy for the rest of 2012. 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.