As a relative newcomer to the driver’s seat, Ryan Smith admits he’s still learning. Last Saturday he recently took a field trip to race against the finest in the American All-Star Series Presented by PPM Racing Products. When the checkers waved, Smith earned himself a fifth-place finish at place he never raced at before, Sugar Creek Raceway in Blue Ridge, Georgia.
(For more on Sugar Creek Raceway, read “Sugar Creek Raceway to Kick Off 2024 with American All-Stars.”)
“The competition is definitely tough,” the Rogersville, Tennessee, native said of racing in the series. “We hadn’t run good in a series race. It’s definitely a good way to start the season. It definitely boosts [confidence], running side by side with them guys who have been racing for so long.”
Despite a racing pedigree that includes his father Mike Smith, Ryan Smith just started racing in late 2022. He ran his first full season last year, racing primarily at tracks local to him. Smith’s best finish to date is a third at Tazewell Speedway in Tennessee.
“You see [racing] and you think, ‘Well, that don’t look too hard,’” said Smith. “But it’s a whole different feeling once you’re in the car.”
Smith currently studies finance as a freshman at Lincoln Memorial University. He admits, however, that he still receives an education when he hits the track, too.
“We’re going to try to hit all the big races we can,” Smith said. “The goal is to win some, but being more realistic, it’s to get more seat time. We’re going to try to go to as many places as we can so we can be more versatile in our skills.”
The American All-Star Series Presented by PPM Racing Products offers another opportunity for young racers such as Ryan Smith to get an education by racing against some of the best. The next tour event takes place Saturday, April 13, at Lake Cumberland Speedway in Burnside, Kentucky.
Outside Groove Note of Transparency: Outside Groove is a sponsor of the American All-Star Series. The American All-Star Series paid for the production of this article. The content is not subject to the approval of the American All-Star Series.
The Outside Groove Executive Editor has covered motorsports since 2000. His many awards include the 2019 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Jim Hunter Writer of the Year and the 2013 Russ Catlin Award for Excellence in Motorsports Journalism.
