Garage 66, the NASCAR Cup Series organization formerly known as MBM Motorsports, has found its driver for the 2025 Daytona 500. After NASCAR deemed the team’s original driver — Mike Wallace — ineligible to compete, the team has acquired Chandler Smith to pilot its No. 66 Ford Mustang Dark Horse in The Great American Race.
The 22-year-old racer, who has recorded eight total victories between the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series over the last six seasons, is excited to have a chance to compete for his first-career Daytona 500 start.
“I’m very excited for the opportunity to race our way into the Daytona 500 with Garage 66,” Smith said. “Being in The Great American Race is such an honor, and I can’t thank QuickTie and Carl Long enough for helping put this all together.”
Team owner Carl Long says he had been lighting up phones following Wallace, 65, not earning approval to compete, and he is proud to have a driver of Smith’s caliber in the seat of his race car on such short notice.
“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,” Long explained. “After several days of non-stop communication with available drivers who could race a Ford, the pieces came together to place Chandler Smith in our car.
“I am super pleased to have Chandler in our seat. He has friends behind the wheel of 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.”
With Smith sliding behind the wheel, the driver’s longtime sponsorship partner QuickTie will adorn the No. 66 machine. Coble Enterprises, a longtime Garage 66/MBM Motorsports team sponsor, will serve as an associate sponsorship partner for the Daytona 500.
While the Daytona 500 is set for Sunday, February 16, Smith and the No. 66 team will attempt to lock its place into the field by being one of the two-fastest “Open” teams in NASCAR Cup Series qualifying on Wednesday, February 12.
If Smith and the No. 66 team fail to clock their way into the field on Wednesday, they’ll have one last chance to work their way into the Daytona 500 by way of the Duel qualifying races on Thursday, February 13.
Garage 66 will also field an entry in the 2025 Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. The team announced Garrett Smithley as its driver for that event on January 18.
