"Racing just seems like it was what I was meant to do," Clint Smith said. Smith has been doing just that for the last 27 years. A professional in dirt track competition, Smith races in 60 to 70 events each year and has had hundreds of 1st-place victories. In 1989 and 1990 Smith won back-to-back track championships at the Seven Flags Speedway in Douglasville, Ga. His winning streak continued, and in 1992 Smith won the Southern All-Stars Racing Series Championship and followed that up with championships in 1993, 2000, and 2003. He currently holds the record with the most championship titles of any other driver for the series. In between Southern All Star title runs Smith maintained his achievements in the sport by being named champion of the Hav-A-Tampa Racing Series. "The Hav-A-Tampa Series was the cream of the crop at the time (in dirt track competition)," Smith said. "It had the biggest races, the most TV coverage, and the most money." Because he did not miss any of the series competitions from it’s inception in 1990 until 1998, Smith had been called "the iron man of Hav-A-Tampa" by racing enthusiasts. Smith has also finished well in some of the largest and most celebrated dirt track events in the United States. Clint has raced in famed events like the Dirt Track World Championship, The Dream and World 100 at Eldora Speedway in Ohio. This past year, 2007, he was called upon by Tony Stewart to provide a car and assistance to Jeff Gordon for The Prelude. The Prelude is an event preceeding The Dream every June where drivers from Nascar and even the NHRA come together and drive dirt late models in a race which was broadcast on Pay-Per-View by HBO to raise money for the Tony Stewart Foundation and the Victory Junction Gang. Jeff Gordon and team had such a good experience, especially after Gordon finished 3rd in the event for his very first time in a Late Model, that the team came to see Clint race at a couple of events throughout the year, invited him to join them pitside at the Nascar event in Atlanta and the use of their shop when in North Carolina. Clint will once again provide a car and equipment for Jeff Gordon in the 2008 Prelude.

During the off-seasons of 1993 and 1996, Smith accompanied three other American drivers on seven week racing tours in Australia. During these tours, which were sponsored by automotive parts manufacturers, the drivers formed a U.S. team that competed against a four-member Australian team in test matches. The competitions included 10 to 18 events in various cities on the East Coast of Australia. The U.S. team won the competition both years that Smith participated. He was asked to return to Australia in 2000, but decided to remain home to prepare for the upcoming race season.
Smith, a second-generation driver, has been involved in dirt track racing his entire life. His father, Roscoe Smith, who was active in the sport during Smith’s younger years, brought Smith to his first racing event when he was only two-weeks-old. Smith spent his youth building and repairing cars in his father’s shop. By the age of 12, Smith had accumulated an expansive knowledge of both the internal and the external components of racecars. Smith drove in his premier competition when he was 15. Less than a year later, he had his first victory at Senoia Speedway. Smith raced with his family until 1986 when he joined Buddy Green Racing of Macon, Ga., his first of several racing teams. In 1989 Smith joined with Virginia Matthews of Tyrone, Ga., to form Smith and Matthews Racing, a partnership which lasted four years. Since that time, Smith has partnered with Ives Brothers Racing of Quitman, Ga., North Carolina-based Dunn-Benson Ford, Eastern Kentucky-based Tim Logan Racing, and Turkey Creek Snacks with Laddie and Gayle Fulcher of Thomaston, GA.

Through his notable performances on the racetrack, Smith has attracted multiple sponsors ranging from tires to snack food companies. "Sponsorship is the most vital part of racing," Smith said. "You’ve got to be able to sell yourself and you’ve got to have something to offer."Over the years Smith has participated successfully in a variety of competitive games and sports including a two-year stint on a dart league and memberships in five bowling leagues. However, nothing has been as constant in his life as racing. "It’s always kept my interest," Smith said. Smith said that the aspects of racing that he enjoys most are the pursuit of victory and the excitement of the sport. "It’s exciting that someone would want to be me for that split second (of victory)," Smith said. "(I’ve) supplied a thrill to somebody for that moment, and that’s a good feeling. Joining Smith on the road and always by his side for support is his wife, Kim and their daughter, Jenna. They travel with Clint everywhere they can and Smith says, "Kim takes care of my timing and Jenna is learning how so that we will have the field covered and know what we are racing against". Clint has spent the last 3 years traveling with the premier series Dirt MotorSports World of Outlaws Late Model Series. This series maintains contracted drivers. He is coming off his best season yet with the World of Outlaws finishing with 4 wins and 3rd in season points. . The series travels a very broad spectrum of tracks around the country, including a few stops in Canada and has reached many fans with its internet based broadcasts and now a television deal reaching millions on the cable network SPEED channel. .By: Eric Fulcher and Sandy Walker