In a collaborative effort, Jeff Taylor, Mounce/Stout Motorsports and Rick Young will field driver T.J. Smith at the Chili Bowl Nationals in January.
“I am really looking forward to this collaborative effort with Jeff Taylor and Rick Young. Gavin Stout and I are equally excited to work with a talented driver in TJ Smith,” Jay Mounce of Mounce/Stout Motorsports said. “It’s an exciting opportunity for all of us.
“T.J. has been good in the building in the past as he was victorious during the non winged portion of the Tulsa Shootout last year, and ran third in the winged feature event.”
The Fresno, Calif., driver has been successful in the Tulsa Expo Center over the years as it was highlighted by the aforementioned Golden Driller during the 2022 running of the prestigious event to go along with a podium effort in the 55-lap winged feature event.
“Jeff and I have talked about running together the last few years, and we finally were able to put all the right pieces together. It is a solid group, and mixing Jay Mounce and his team in the equation, I’m excited to have their knowledge heading into the building this year,” Smith said.
Over the course of the 2023 season, Smith as ran a nice mix of micro and midget races as he totaled 11 feature event wins in 44 starts. While he has been successful in the Shootout, he is no stranger to the Chili Bowl and found himself in an E Main during last year’s running of the event.
Taylor is also excited for this pairing, as it marks yet another California talent he will be able to team up with.
“T.J. Smith and I were introduced to each other by Justin Grant, and we have been friends for a few years now,” Taylor said. “Justin has told me a lot of great things about T.J., and how great he thought he was as a driver. Things haven’t worked out in the past, but this year everything finally came together, and I am excited to see how we can do at the Chili Bowl.
“I have been fortunate with work with some California stand outs over the years including Grant, Logan Seavey, Ryan Bernal and Landon Brooks, and I’m looking forward to including T.J. in that list.”