After sustaining severe damage to his primary Richmond car in a test late last week, part-time Busch Series competitor, C.W. Smith was faced with a difficult situation. Lacking sufficient time to make needed repairs to the chassis, the Panasonic-sponsored team sought assistance from fellow Busch competitors, and found they didn’t have to look very far. The damaged car was returned to the Jeff Spraker shop in Mooresville, NC where the Smith Brothers Motorsports cars are prepared. When neighbor Gregg Mixon, of GIC Mixon Motorsports, became aware of the circumstances, he offered to combine forces with the Smith Brothers team for the Richmond race with #24 driver Steve Grissom carrying the Panasonic colors. An appreciative Smith stated: “Our primary concern was for our sponsor. The Richmond race is slated to be a pivotal marketing event for Panasonic and Circuit City, and we wanted to be sure and provide the best possible effort on their behalf. I’m very grateful to Gregg Mixon and Steve Grissom for stepping up to assist with this program and provide Panasonic the exposure that they deserve.” Smith, a retired Pennsylvania State Trooper who runs a limited schedule in the Busch Series, has posted some strong qualifying efforts and a top-15 finish at Talladega earlier this year.(Spraker PR)(9-9-2004)
