Gary Smith (born July 6, 1968) is a Canadian former stock car racing driver who primarily competed in the NASCAR Winston West Series from 1996 to 2004. He last competed part time in the NASCAR West Series, driving the No. 79 Chevrolet for Midgley Motorsports. Smith is the son of four-time NASCAR Winston West champion Roy Smith.
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Racing Career
Smith began kart racing at the age of three, driving for over 18 years and winning four International Kart Federation championships. In 1986, he moved to stock cars, racing at his home track of Western Speedway in Langford, British Columbia. Smith won the 1992 and 1993 IMCA Modified Island Series championship.
In 1995, Smith went full time in the NASCAR Northwest Series, achieving a win at the Wenatchee Valley Super Oval. Smith would go on to finish third in the championship. Returning to the series in 1996, Smith would also make his first NASCAR Winston West Series start on June 29th at Evergreen Speedway, finishing second.
Smith went full time in the Winston West Series in 1997, recording wins at Tucson Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Finishing third in the standings, Smith would receive the Rookie of the Year award.
Starting the 1998 season in the No. 09 Pontiac, Smith would drive for Midgley Motorsports. After a crash at California Speedway, he would move to Bill McAnally Racing, scoring a win at Portland Speedway and four runner-up finishes, again finishing third in the championship. Later that year, Smith was selected by NASCAR to compete in the Coca-Cola 500 Winston Cup exhibition race at Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, Japan, the only Canadian in the field. With backing from Molson Brewery, Smith qualified 27th, retiring on lap 54 with an electrical issue.
Smith moved to Faustina Racing for the first two races of 1999, then competed for Midgley Racing at Phoenix International Raceway and Bernie Hilber Racing at California. After a rough start, including no top-15s and two crashes in the first four races, Smith would miss the next three races before returning to Bernie Hilber Racing, finishing the season 16th in points with a best finish of fifth.
Smith ran the first four races of 2000 with Bernie Hilber Racing in the No. 7 Pontiac, scoring a best finish of 11th at Phoenix. In 2004, Smith drove the No. 79 in the Coors Light 200 at Evergreen Speedway in honor of his late father, Roy, who passed away earlier in the year. He finished 18th.
Smith was named president of the Vancouver Island Karting Association in 2021.