By Victoria Beaver 

Ryan Smith found his way to the 48th position in the Flo 50 thanks to 32 top 10s, 13 top fives, and three wins across two series in 2017 — and an incredible late-season surge.

The “Kunkletown Kid” started the year racing in 24 All Star Circuit of Champions (ASCoC) races before the start of Pennsylvania Speedweeks. In 15 shows, he made the feature all but two times and recorded 13 top 10s and five top fives.

Smith raced in five nights of Pennsylvania Speedweeks and improved from track to track, finishing inside the top 10 in his last three races in front of the hometown crowds.

Dirt track racing is about the extended family and helping other drivers. In an example that speaks not only to Smith’s character but also highlights one of the wilder stories from the World of Outlaws Sprint Car season, Smith and his team lent their backs to help Logan Schuchart push his hauler down the road when the series was in Pennsylvania in July.

The No. 59 Phoenix Racing driver snagged his first win of 2017 on July 28 in an All Star race at Black Rock, NY’s Outlaw Speedway. To accomplish that feat, Smith had to beat out grizzled veterans Chad Kemenah, Sammy Swindell, Danny Dietrich, and Tony Stewart after starting on the pole in the A-main.

Smith had to wait for his second until the penultimate ASCoC weekend of the season at Mansfield (Ohio) Raceway.

In that track’s double feature, Smith won both A-mains to take home $10,000 and join the short list of drivers who have won two ASCoC races in one day. He joined the likes of current and future Hall of Famers Dave Blaney, Swindell, and Bobby Allen.

Smith won the scheduled feature after starting third behind Carson Macedo and Travis Philo. He captured the May 28 makeup feature after starting one position further back in fourth behind Tim Shaffer and a pair of Haudenschilds: Jac and Brad.

Smith and his team closed out the season with three nights of racing where all dirt roads lead: the World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte in Concord, NC. After struggling in Friday night’s feature, Smith rebounded to record his final top 10 finish of the 2017 season.

Smith's final top 10 capped off a solid month of October, during which he scored the two Mansfield wins and had five top 10s in his last six races — and that late-season surge is how he got into the Flo 50.

Flo 50

*Percentage points utilize the baseline belief that a win is a win in the major series covered. One hundred points is awarded to first and the points decrement below that as a percentage of the field. For example, in a 25-car field, each position behind the winner is worth four fewer points. In races with incredibly large fields, the points decrement to a less extreme degree. A 50-car field decrements two points per position, and drivers earn points even if they fail to make the A-main.

Introducing The Flo 50