Early career

Son of M.P.H. Racing owners Ron and Lee Smith, Smith grew up in Cato, New York, and began his racing career at the age of four, when he began racing go-karts and microds. Over the next several years, he won numerous regional and state championships. In 1995, he and his family moved to Mooresville, North Carolina, to allow Smith to advance his career. He joined the World Karting Association and continued to win, joining the factory-supported team owned by Enzo Chiovitti in 1998. That same year, he began competing in the Allison Legacy Series.

In 2001, he began driving in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series, winning four consecutive poles.

NASCAR

2002-2004

Smith began his NASCAR career racing in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2002. He made his debut at the age of 18 driving the No. 63 Ford F-150 for MB Motorsports at South Boston Speedway. He qualified 28th and finished 29th at South Boston and finished 30th at Phoenix after starting 12th in that race. He also made his Busch Series debut at Memphis Motorsports Park for Ed Whitaker, starting 16th but finishing 39th after a wreck.

Smith moved to the Busch Series in 2003 for a full-time ride with Bost Motorsports. Despite a lack of major sponsorship, Smith had three top-twenty finishes. However, the underfunded team opted for other drivers halfway through the year, forcing Smith out of work. He drove one race for Innovative Motorsports at Pikes Peak International Raceway, finishing 40th after early mechanical failures forced him to exit the race on the second lap. He also drove for Mac Hill Motorsports in the Ford 300, finishing 28th.

Smith continued to drive for Mac Hill in various Busch races in 2004, his best finish coming at Nashville Superspeedway, where he finished 24th. Following his release from the team, he was hired to drive the No. 50 Enzyte Chevrolet Monte Carlo for Michael Holigan for three races and appeared in a few episodes of The Reality of Speed on Spike, his best finish 26th at Chicagoland Speedway, before that team suspended operations. After a fifteenth-place finish at Pikes Peak for Phoenix Racing, he posted his best NASCAR finish to date at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the Truck Series, 9th in the No. 06 John Boy and Billy Chevy for MRD Motorsports.

2005-2007

Smith began the 2005 season with Xpress Motorsports's No. 19 team, but lost the ride after sponsorship failed to materialize. He was then hired as the driver of the No. 65 Glynn Motorsports Dodge Ram and in four races in the truck he had a 20th at Texas and a pair of 22nds at Mansfield and Dover, and after that was elevated to Glynn's Busch Series team. Originally unsponsored, the team garnered sponsorship from Who's Your Daddy? and Samson Stone. Despite a streak of six races where he did not qualify worse than twelfth, including three thirteenth-place runs, he was released from the team. He ended the year in the Truck Series MRD for the closing races of the season, finishing 29th, 33rd and 32nd in three late season starts for that team.

At the end of the 2005 season, Smith signed on with Team Rensi Motorsports to run a full Busch season for 2006, with his best finish of 10th coming at Charlotte Speedway. Smith ended the season with one top 10 as well as a number of other strong finishes, and ended the season 20th overall in points. Towards the end of the season Smith tested for Ginn Racing at Kentucky, and signed a deal with them to run the full Busch season, and also 16 cup races which, would come in a car shared with Mark Martin for the 2007 season.

2007-2008

Smith attempted his first career Cup race at the 2007 Daytona 500, in a fourth car, numbered 39, for Ginn Racing. He failed to qualify.

Regan Smith made his official Nextel Cup debut at the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, finishing 25th in NASCAR's first Car of Tomorrow race. Regan made 6 starts in the No. 01 sharing ride with Mark Martin. Regan attempted to make the Daytona 500 but did not make the race. He was removed from the No. 01 on July 17, 2007, and moved to the No. 14 after the release of Sterling Marlin, but before the team could run a race Ginn Racing mergered with Dale Earnhardt, Inc.. As a result, the No. 14 team's owner points were transferred to DEI's No. 15 team and Smith was out of a ride for the 2007 season, allowing him to keep his rookie status for 2008 (only six starts). He then moved to the Craftsman Truck series to drive the No. 47 for Morgan-Dollar Motorsports for starting at O'Reilly Raceway Park.

Smith returned to the No. 01 for 2008 as its sole driver, with Martin moving over to the No. 8. The team operated with little to no sponsorship (Principal Financial Group was the main sponsor), but managed to stay in business the entire season. Smith lost out his first win at Talladega Superspeedway because on the final lap, in the trioval, he passed Tony Stewart for first place, but it was announced that Smith went below the yellow line when he made the pass; the victory was given to Stewart. Smith said that he was pushed down by Stewart.

Despite finishing the season with no top ten finishes in 34 races (he was removed for both road course races), Smith won the 2008 Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year award, beating out Sam Hornish, Jr.. He became the first rookie driver in Sprint Cup history to finish every race entered in his rookie season.

2009-2010

After the 2008 season DEI shut down the No. 01 after merging with Chip Ganassi Racing's NASCAR operation and Smith was released. On January 14, 2009, he signed with Furniture Row Racing to drive the No. 78 for its part-time 2009 slate of races. He made eighteen of twenty attempts with the team, and was hired to drive for the team full-time in 2010, with the team being offered Richard Childress Racing chassis and Hendrick Motorsports engines.

In 2010, he did not score any top tens. His best finish was 12th (twice) but still finished 28th in the point standings, his best of his career. The team changed engine providers, becoming a user of Earnhardt-Childress Racing Technologies (a joint venture of his former DEI team and Childress Racing) engines for the 2011 season, with Stewart-Haas Racing offering pit crews.

2011-2013

At the 2011 Daytona 500, Smith returned to the No. 78 car. Smith finished seventh after crashing in the final laps while battling for the lead. Although disappointing, he was able to come back and finish 7th in the first top 10 finish of his Cup Series career and for Furniture Row Racing.

On May 7, 2011, at the Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington Speedway, Smith won his first Sprint Cup race, holding off Carl Edwards at the end. On a late caution, Smith stayed out on older tires while Edwards and most of the lead lap cars pitted for fresh right side tires. Smith fended off Edwards for two restarts to claim the first cup win of his career at Darlington Raceway. Smith in recalling the Talladega race he lost in 2008 said he was not worried about it anymore, and said the Darlington win meant more to him than what he would have experienced at Talladega. The win was somewhat overshadowed by a post-race altercation between Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick. It was only the second time a driver had won his first Sprint Cup race in the Rebel 500, the first being Lake Speed in 1988.

At the 2011 Brickyard 400, Smith had enough fuel to end with a solid 3rd-place finish by passing Jamie McMurray on the last lap, for his second top 5 of 2011. His former teammate Paul Menard ended up winning the race. Also a strong run at New Hampshire Motor Speedway proved that Smith was ready for the Sprint Cup Series with another top 10 position. At the fall race at Talladega Superspeedway, Smith was accidentally turned by Mark Martin and smashed extremely hard head on into the wall. Smith was able to walk away from the crash uninjured but said the crash was one of his hardest wrecks in his career.

In 2012 when the Daytona 500 frustrated many fans and NASCAR officials because of a long rain delay on the planned date, a rain delay in the morning, and then the bizarre fire red flag delay caused by Juan Pablo Montoya's crash into a jet dryer in turn 3 on lap 160, Smith told the public he was so happy and excited for the first time in his career to leave Daytona that night. Smith had been involved in a crash on lap 188 involving several other drivers, but was able to continue on the lead lap.

At the 2012 Irwin Tools Night Race, Smith had gotten through 2 cautions that resulted in Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart crashing out of the race until he ended up spinning Danica Patrick away from a top-ten finish. Patrick crashed head-on and when climbing out of her car, before leaving with officials she thought about tossing her helmet at Smith's car like Stewart had done to Matt Kenseth previously in the past caution, but instead vented her anger/fury by wagging her finger at him when he came by to lap her down. After the race Smith maintained that he did not intentionally crash her while Patrick believed he did and both left Bristol without any penalties.

It was announced on September 24, 2012, that Smith would not be returning to Furniture Row Racing for the 2013 season. He was replaced by Kurt Busch. In his last start for FRR, in the fall race at Talladega, Smith had a fifth-place finish after clearing a 23-car crash in turn 4 on the last lap.

Smith was set to finish the 2012 season by swapping rides with Busch, with Busch taking over Smith's No. 78 and Smith taking over the unsponsored No. 51 Chevrolet at Phoenix Racing, but Smith was announced on October 11, 2012, as the replacement driver for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in the works team's No. 88 Chevrolet for the Charlotte and Kansas Chase races after Earnhardt, Jr. was diagnosed with a concussion after his testing crash at Kansas Speedway in August and after involvement in the same last lap crash during the Good Sam Club 500 at Talladega on October 7, 2012, so for these two races, Smith was replaced in the No. 51 by A. J. Allmendinger. Qualifying 26th and performing well during both practice sessions, Smith had a top-ten car before the engine failed for the first time on the No. 88 team in the season, and finished the race in 38th position. In the following race at Kansas, Smith performed well, and managed to muster a top-ten finish. Earnhardt, Jr. returned to the 88 at Martinsville. Allmendinger would drive the No. 51 at Martinsville and Texas, while Smith drove the car at Phoenix and Homestead. On November 18, Smith won the Ford EcoBoost 300 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series driving the No. 5 Hendrickcars.com Chevy for JR Motorsports. It is his first career NASCAR Nationwide Series win in his first and only start of 2012. Prior to the win at Homestead Miami his last start came in 2007.

For 2013, Smith returned to the Nationwide Series, driving the No. 7 for JR Motorsports. On the final lap at the season-opening DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona, Smith was leading while heading into the final turn, but when he attempted to block Brad Keselowski, but then spun up the track, causing a 12-car crash that injured 28 fans. On May 4, Smith got his second Nationwide Series victory at the Aaron's 312 at Talladega; Smith, Joey Logano and Kasey Kahne were racing three-wide to the finish, and despite Kahne crossing first, Smith had been the leader at the time of the caution coming out. At Michigan's Nationwide race, Smith took the lead with 13 laps remaining after Parker Kligerman pitted, and Smith held off Kyle Larson for his third Nationwide victory. On September 6, Smith stepped into the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports car for Jimmie Johnson in practice and qualifying for the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond, since Johnson was awaiting his second child's birth.

Smith finished third in the 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series standings, behind Austin Dillon and Sam Hornish, Jr.; he was named the series' Most Popular Driver at the season-ending awards banquet.

2014

Smith won the season-opening DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona.

On May 24, Smith was tabbed as standby driver for the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports car of Jeff Gordon in the event Gordon did not run the Coca-Cola 600 due to back spasms. Gordon would run the full 600 miles. On August 10, Smith was hired to replace Tony Stewart in the Cheez-It 355 at The Glen after Stewart hit and killed a driver during a sprint car race the previous day.

Smith nearly swept the Daytona Nationwide races by nearly winning the Subway Jalapeño 250. He got edged at the start-finish line by teammate Kasey Kahne in a photo-finish. The spring Daytona race was proven to be Smith's only win of 2014. He finished second in the championship standings to teammate Chase Elliott who clinched the championship during the autumn race at Phoenix.

2015

Smith was picked up by Stewart-Haas Racing to drive the No. 41 Haas Automation car, upon the indefinite suspension of its normal driver Kurt Busch. It marked the second time in 7 months that Smith replaced a SHR driver (the other being when he replaced Stewart at Watkins Glen in 2014). Upon Busch's reinstation, Smith did not return to the Cup Series until the STP 500, when Smith replaced Kyle Larson in the No. 42 Target car of Chip Ganassi Racing after Larson had fainted the day before the race.

In the Xfinity Series race at Daytona, he flipped over for the first time in his career causing him to finish 35th.

On August 8, 2015 at Watkins Glen, Smith started the fight against Ty Dillon when Dillon dumped him in turn one costing him in a great finish.

On August 15, 2015, Smith won the Nationwide Children's Hospital 200, at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, passing the leader, Alex Tagliani, in the last lap after slight contact while racing for the lead.

On October 3, 2015, Smith won his second race in 2015 at Dover, after holding off Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin.

On October 17, 2015, Smith stated that he will not return to JR Motorsports for 2016 and expected to join a team that is competing in the Cup Series in 2016. It was announced on October 28 that Justin Allgaier would bring Brandt sponsorship and drive the No. 7 in 2016.

2016

Smith returned to the Cup Series in 2016, driving the No. 7 for Tommy Baldwin Racing, a few hours after Alex Bowman was released from the ride. He started his season with a solid 8th-place finish in the Daytona 500.

Personal life

Smith is an avid fan of the Carolina Hurricanes and the Denver Broncos.

He married his wife, Megan and have a son, Rhett.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold - Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics - Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * - Most laps led.)

Sprint Cup Series

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	NSCC	Pts
2007	Ginn Racing	39	Chevy	DAY	CAL	LVS	ATL																																	50th	516
		01						BRI	MAR	TEX	PHO	TAL	RCH	DAR	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	NHA	DAY	CHI	IND	POC
	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.																								GLN	MCH	BRI	CAL	RCH	NHA	DOV	KAN	TAL	CLT	MAR	ATL	TEX	PHO	HOM
2008				DAY	CAL	LVS	ATL	BRI	MAR	TEX	PHO	TAL	RCH	DAR	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	NHA	DAY	CHI	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	CAL	RCH	NHA	DOV	KAN	TAL	CLT	MAR	ATL	TEX	PHO	HOM	34th	2672
2009	Furniture Row Racing	78	Chevy	DAY	CAL	LVS	ATL	BRI	MAR	TEX	PHO	TAL	RCH	DAR	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	NHA	DAY	CHI	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	ATL	RCH	NHA	DOV	KAN	CAL	CLT	MAR	TAL	TEX	PHO	HOM	39th	1440
2010				DAY	CAL	LVS	ATL	BRI	MAR	PHO	TEX	TAL	RCH	DAR	DOV	CLT	POC	MCH	SON	NHA	DAY	CHI	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	ATL	RCH	NHA	DOV	KAN	CAL	CLT	MAR	TAL	TEX	PHO	HOM	28th	3229
2011				DAY	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	MAR	TEX	TAL	RCH	DAR	DOV	CLT	KAN	POC	MCH	SON	DAY	KEN	NHA	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	NHA	DOV	KAN	CLT	TAL	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM	26th	820
2012				DAY	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	MAR	TEX	KAN	RCH	TAL	DAR	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	KEN	DAY	NHA	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	NHA	DOV	TAL							24th	747
	Hendrick Motorsports	88	Chevy																															CLT	KAN	MAR	TEX
	Phoenix Racing	51	Chevy																																			PHO	HOM
2013				DAY	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	MAR	TEX	KAN	RCH	TAL	DAR	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	KEN	DAY	NHA	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	ATL												53rd	01
	Hendrick Motorsports	48	Chevy																										RCH	CHI	NHA	DOV	KAN	CLT	TAL	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM
2014	Stewart-Haas Racing	14	Chevy	DAY	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	MAR	TEX	DAR	RCH	TAL	KAN	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	KEN	DAY	NHA	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	NHA	DOV	KAN	CLT	TAL	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM	71st	01
2015		41		DAY	ATL	LVS	PHO	CAL																																58th	01
	Chip Ganassi Racing	42	Chevy						MAR	TEX	BRI	RCH	TAL	KAN	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	DAY	KEN	NHA	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	CHI	NHA	DOV	CLT	KAN	TAL	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM
2016	Tommy Baldwin Racing	7	Chevy	DAY	ATL	LVS	PHO	CAL	MAR	TEX	BRI	RCH	TAL	KAN	DOV	CLT	POC	MCH	SON	DAY	KEN	NHA	IND	POC	GLN	BRI	MCH	DAR	RCH	CHI	NHA	DOV	CLT	KAN	TAL	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM	-*	-*

Daytona 500

Year	Team	Manufacturer	Start	Finish
2007	Ginn Racing	Chevrolet	DNQ
2008	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.		29	37
2009	Furniture Row Racing	Chevrolet	42	21
2010			11	39
2011			5	7
2012			6	24
2013	Phoenix Racing	Chevrolet	40	7
2015	Stewart-Haas Racing	Chevrolet	24	16
2016	Tommy Baldwin Racing	Chevrolet	27	8

Xfinity Series

NASCAR Xfinity Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	NXSC	Pts
2002	Wellrich Motorsports	07	Chevy	DAY	CAR	LVS	DAR	BRI	TEX	NSH	TAL	CAL	RCH	NHA	NZH	CLT	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	DAY	CHI	GTY	PPR	IRP	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	KAN	CLT	MEM	ATL	CAR	PHO	HOM		118th	46
2003	Bost Motorsports	22	Chevy	DAY	CAR	LVS	DAR	BRI	TEX	TAL	NSH	CAL	RCH	GTY	NZH	CLT	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	DAY	CHI	NHA																38th	1313
	Innovative Motorsports	47	Chevy																					PPR	IRP	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	KAN	CLT	MEM	ATL	PHO	CAR
	Mac Hill Motorsports	56	Chevy																																		HOM
2004				DAY	CAR	LVS	DAR	BRI	TEX	NSH	TAL	CAL	GTY	RCH		CLT	DOV																						45th	802
	Akins Motorsports	38	Ford												NZH
	Holigan Racing	50	Chevy															NSH	KEN	MLW	DAY	CHI	NHA
	Phoenix Racing	1	Dodge																					PPR	IRP	MCH	BRI	CAL	RCH	DOV	KAN	CLT
	Roush Racing	60	Ford																														MEM	ATL	PHO	DAR	HOM
2005	Akins Motorsports	58	Dodge	DAY	CAL	MXC	LVS	ATL	NSH	BRI	TEX	PHO	TAL	DAR	RCH	CLT	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	DAY																		33rd	1693
	Glynn Motorsports																					CHI	NHA	PPR	GTY	IRP	GLN	MCH	BRI	CAL	RCH	DOV	KAN	CLT	MEM	TEX	PHO	HOM
2006	Team Rensi Motorsports	35	Ford	DAY	CAL	MXC	LVS	ATL	BRI	TEX	NSH	PHO	TAL	RCH	DAR	CLT	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	DAY	CHI	NHA	MAR	GTY	IRP	GLN	MCH	BRI	CAL	RCH	DOV	KAN	CLT	MEM	TEX	PHO	HOM	20th	3136
2007	Ginn Racing	4	Chevy	DAY	CAL	MXC	LVS	ATL	BRI	NSH	TEX	PHO	TAL	RCH	DAR	CLT	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	NHA	DAY	CHI	GTY	IRP	CGV	GLN	MCH	BRI	CAL	RCH	DOV	KAN	CLT	MEM	TEX	PHO	HOM	31st	1820
2012	JR Motorsports	5	Chevy	DAY	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	TEX	RCH	TAL	DAR	IOW	CLT	DOV	MCH	ROA	KEN	DAY	NHA	CHI	IND	IOW	GLN	CGV	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	KEN	DOV	CLT	KAN	TEX	PHO	HOM			107th	01
2013		7		DAY	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	TEX	RCH	TAL	DAR	CLT	DOV	IOW	MCH	ROA	KEN	DAY	NHA	CHI	IND	IOW	GLN	MOH	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	KEN	DOV	KAN	CLT	TEX	PHO	HOM			3rd	1108
2014				DAY	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	TEX	DAR	RCH	TAL	IOW	CLT	DOV	MCH	ROA	KEN	DAY	NHA	CHI	IND	IOW	GLN	MOH	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	KEN	DOV	KAN	CLT	TEX	PHO	HOM			2nd	1171
2015				DAY	ATL	LVS	PHO	CAL	TEX	BRI	RCH	TAL	IOW	CLT	DOV	MCH	CHI	DAY	KEN	NHA	IND	IOW	GLN	MOH	BRI	ROA	DAR	RCH	CHI	KEN	DOV	CLT	KAN	TEX	PHO	HOM			4th	1168
2016		88		DAY	ATL	LVS	PHO	CAL	TEX	BRI	RCH	TAL	DOV	CLT	POC	MCH	IOW	DAY	KEN	NHA	IND	IOW	GLN	MOH	BRI	ROA	DAR	RCH	CHI	KEN	DOV	CLT	KAN	TEX	PHO	HOM			-*	0*1

Craftsman Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	NCTC	Pts
2002	MB Motorsports	63	Ford	DAY	DAR	MAR	GTY	PPR	DOV	TEX	MEM	MLW	KAN	KEN	NHA	MCH	IRP	NSH	RCH	TEX	SBO	LVS	CAL	PHO	HOM				76th	642
2004	MRD Motorsports	06	Chevy	DAY	ATL	MAR	MFD	CLT	DOV	TEX	MEM	MLW	KAN	KEN	GTW	MCH	IRP	NSH	BRI	RCH	NHA	LVS	CAL	TEX	MAR	PHO	DAR	HOM	78th	138
2005	Xpress Motorsports	19	Chevy	DAY	CAL	ATL	MAR	GTY																					38th	640
	Glynn Motorsports	65	Dodge						MFD	CLT	DOV	TEX	MCH	MLW	KAN	KEN	MEM	IRP	NSH	BRI	RCH	NHA	LVS	MAR
	MRD Motorsports	06	Chevy																						ATL	TEX	PHO	HOM
2007	Morgan-Dollar Motorsports	47	Chevy	DAY	CAL	ATL	MAR	KAN	CLT	MFD	DOV	TEX	MCH	MLW	MEM	KEN	IRP	NSH	BRI	GTW	NHA	LVS	TAL	MAR	ATL	TEX	PHO	HOM	32nd	1119
2008		46		DAY	CAL	ATL	MAR	KAN	CLT	MFD	DOV	TEX	MCH	MLW	MEM	KEN	IRP	NSH	BRI	GTW	NHA	LVS	TAL	MAR	ATL	TEX	PHO	HOM	79th	112

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

[ Source: Wikipedia ]