Over the past several months, many outreach and goodwill efforts across professional sports have been devoted to assisting those affected by natural disasters, whether it be the Western North Carolina region devastated by Hurricane Helene or the greater Los Angeles area ravaged by wildfires over the last several weeks. What separates NASCAR from other sports, however, is the very direct way in which those in and around stock car racing have lent a helping hand.
In the immediate aftermath of Helene, former NASCAR star and Hall of Fame nominee Greg Biffle earned great acclaim for delivering aid and relief throughout Western North Carolina via his private helicopter. And now, R.K. Smithley — the father of Xfinity Series driver Garrett Smithley — is flying missions to help fight the L.A. wildfires.
A recent story published by The Athletic profiled the elder Smithley, who works for a private aerial firefighting company and has been flying upwards of six missions a day dropping fire retardant from a DC-10 across Los Angeles. For his son, that kind of work is nothing new, but the circumstances have brought a new and unique level of publicity to the family trade.
Speaking to CBS Sports on Wednesday, Smithley shared that his father returned home Monday after 10 days flying across Los Angeles, earning the most publicity he ever has in 11 years flying private firefighting aircraft. The Smithleys have earned considerable recognition across the NASCAR industry, with some remarking that Garrett is somehow not “the biggest badass in the family” despite being a NASCAR driver — something he doesn’t disagree with.
“It just goes to show the like-mindedness of the NASCAR community, the fact that we all pull together. And it’s been cool to see him get the recognition,” Smithley told CBS Sports. “I tell people all the time that he has a much cooler job than me, and of course much more meaningful. And he’s really, really doing a lot of good out there. For him and all the other pilots out there, I know it’s gratifying for them to see all the support and all the outreach. And it’s been cool to see the NASCAR community rally around me.
“I did a preseason production day (Tuesday), and it was cool to see how many people really paid attention when I showed up to an event like that. Pretty much everybody at every station that I went to, they were like ‘hey, how’s your Dad doing?’ and this and that. And it’s really cool to see.”
Although Smithley opted for a racing career and has spent the last decade gaining a foothold in NASCAR’s top three divisions — he’s made 76 Cup Series starts and 180 Xfinity starts with one top five, five top 10s and a best career finish of fifth at Daytona in 2018 — firefighting has run in the family. R.K. Smithley is a third-generation firefighter, initially working as a volunteer firefighter in Ligonier, Pennsylvania before becoming a pilot. And the family also has a significant military background, which will help Garrett along in his racing career this season.
Smithley has partnered with Hire Heroes USA, a nonprofit dedicated to helping veterans and military spouses succeed in civilian careers, which will be showcased on Smithley’s car for multiple races this season beginning with the Xfinity Series opener at Daytona. Smithley’s military ties extend from both his grandparents, who served in the Marines and Army respectively, all the way to when his father flew charter military flights and he himself worked with military charities as a Boy Scout growing up.
“For me, we’ve always supported the military, but something that gets missed is the transition out of the military,” Smithley said. “Eventually these service members do transition out into the private sector, and I think that’s been a big hole, something that isn’t talked about enough. I felt like Hire Heroes USA was a great opportunity to build this program. We’re gonna have a five-race program with them, we’re gonna have job seekers come out to the track and help transition, and I’m super excited about where this can go.
“It’s been very well-documented that ex-military are great employees and have really good values, really good work ethic. So it’s an opportunity for these companies (partnering with Hire Heroes USA) to check a lot of different boxes and promote a really good cause.”
The 2025 Xfinity Series marks an exciting opportunity for Smithley. After spending the past few years piecing together opportunities to race, including last year after his team shut down midseason, he has been tabbed as the full-time driver of the No. 14 Ford for SS GreenLight Racing and longtime car owner Bobby Dotter. He will also race for Garage 66 in the Cup Series’ season-opening Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, and says he hopes to run five to seven Cup races in the No. 66 owned by Carl Long.
While Smithley says that his team is tempering their expectations as an independent organization in a deep Xfinity field — he set a goal of a top-20 finish in driver points and a top-25 finish in owner points — the familiarity he has with both Dotter and crew chief Jason Miller, combined with long-sought stability between driver and team, offers reason for optimism that he can be as competitive as possible.
“The most positive thing besides the full-time deal is the fact that we have worked together,” Smithley said. “I’ve raced for Bobby before, I’ve worked with Jason Miller before, and we’ve always run good. So I think that there’s definitely a lot of optimism and I’m hopeful that we can just do all our goals and finish these races. And honestly, I’d love to be here for years to come.
“I think it’s a great organization and some place that I can build and I’m proud to bring sponsors to.”
