Sammy  Smith  Image
Sammy  Smith  Badge, Number 8

Sammy

Smith

Born: June 4, 2004

Hometown: Johnston, Iowa

2 Total Wins

13Top 5's

33 Top 10's

Sammy Smith returns for a second season with JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, fresh off a Playoff appearance and a victory at Talladega Superspeedway in 2024. The recognizable brands of Pilot, TMC Transportation and Allstate Peterbilt Group will also be returning to the organization as valued partners on Smith’s No. 8 Chevrolet. Crew chief Phillip Bell will resume his position atop the pit box for the 20-year-old Iowa native as a late-season adjustment saw the strong duo come together. As an added bonus, Smith’s Chevrolet will now carry the classic and familiar stylized No. 8 made famous by team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the early stages of his NASCAR Cup Series career.

In his first season with JRM in 2024, Smith earned a second straight NXS Playoff berth and scored a strong. victory at Talladega that propelled the young driver into the second round of the playoffs. In the Round of 8, Smith faced another must-win at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia and came up just short, taking the checkered flag in the runner-up position. For the season, Smith earned the one victory, seven top-five and 16 top-10 finishes. In 2023, Smith raced to his first NXS career win at Phoenix Raceway in only his 13th start and nearly advanced to the Championship 4.

Smith began his racing career at age 10 in U.S. Legend Cars, graduating to Pro and Late Model Stock Cars with multiple teams in several states, including the zMAX CARS Tour. In 2021, Smith made his ARCA Menards Series East debut and, in just eight races, the young driver earned three wins. He finished in the top five in all but one race and led 396 laps en route to his first ARCA East championship. In the Super Late Model ranks, Smith won four times and earned 13 top-five finishes.

In 2022, Smith had a busy season of building his craft as he again competed in the ARCA Menards Series and with Donnie Wilson Racing in Super Late Models. He also made his debut in the NXS with nine starts. Across the ARCA platform, Smith won 12 races, led 1,988 laps and collected the Sioux Chief Showdown and ARCA Menards Series East championship. In his NXS races, Smith tallied three top-10 results with a best finish of third on the legendary road course at Watkins Glen International.

Phillip Bell  Image

Phillip

Bell

Born: August 27, 1990

Hometown: Senoia, Ga.

Crew Chief

1Total Wins

3Top 5's

9Top 10's

Phillip Bell has a long history with JR Motorsports, dating back to 2017 when he joined the organization as an engineer for the flagship No. 9 team. In 2024, Bell made his debut as a crew chief for the No. 9 team with driver Brandon Jones before moving to Sammy Smith and the No. 8 Pilot Flying J team for the final 10 races of the season in an effort to earn a spot in the NXS Playoffs.

Over those final 10 races, Bell led Smith and the team into the Playoffs, scoring a scintillating victory at Talladega—by a scant .177 seconds—to advance to the Round of 8 before bowing out prior to the Championship 4. In the penultimate race that would determine the four-car championship field a week later at Phoenix, Smith lost out in a final bid for the title berth by finishing second to eventual winner Aric Almirola at Martinsville.

For the season, Bell was atop the pit box for 33 races, earning the Talladega victory with Smith, two more top-five finishes as well as nine top-10 results and a pair of pole positions. The team finished 11th in season points.

The 34-year-old Georgia native will lead Smith and the rest of the team into the 2025 season with the goal of adding the first championship for the team’s No. 8 Chevrolet, which will sport the stylized No. 8 made famous by team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. during his racing career. His experience as lead engineer for the No. 42 NASCAR Cup Series entry at Legacy Motor Club with crew chief Luke Lambert is an asset Bell brings back to the crew chief role.

Bell arrived at JRM in 2017 as the second engineer on the team’s No. 9 Chevrolet driven by William Byron and was part of the championship-winning effort that season. The following year, Bell was the lead engineer for JRM’s No. 5 team as Tyler Reddick captured the second straight title for the No. 9.

In 2019, Bell again reprised his engineering role atop the pit box for rookie Noah Gragson’s first season behind the wheel, and stayed with Gragson through 2022—when Lambert took over crew chief duties--amassing 13 victories, 60 top-five and 93 top-10 finishes in 132 starts.

Bell got his start in motorsports in the ARCA Menards Series as a car chief for Ken Schrader Racing, serving in that capacity through 2014. He transitioned to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2015 as an engineer for Red Horse Racing, moving to GMS Racing in the same series the following season.

Bell, who graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a degree in mechanical engineering, is married to wife Ashley and the two have one son, Henderson.