In 2011, the now driver-turned-broadcaster, Regan Smith, delivered a historic performance at Darlington Raceway, securing Furniture Row Racing’s first-ever NASCAR Cup Series win. Against the odds, Smith held off Carl Edwards in a dramatic two-lap overtime finish, showcasing his resilience and strategic acumen. This victory marked a significant milestone for the team, highlighting their potential to compete with established giants in the sport. But it was under the influence of one crew member that FRR was able to secure its first championship with Martin Truex Jr.

“Well, we were really good in practice and Cole’s strategy was to not focus on having the best long run car. He wanted something that was going to be good and be fast when the sun went down. I was complaining all day about it… Then he just did his thing. He was like, ‘Stick with me here. I’m going to help you. I know what’s happening.’ I had so much trust in him that I could chill, do my thing and wait on him.” Truex Jr. said about Cole Pearn after his dominant 2017 Cup Series season. But the journey to this championship victory was tough, and Smith recently revealed the secret, remarking, “he was the guy,” all along.

How leadership changes shaped a NASCAR Cup Series contender

In 2012, Furniture Row Racing’s momentum shifted dramatically, with one of its finest members leaving the team. In Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast, Smith reflected, “At the end of 2011, I think it was actually right after Watkins Glen, some things had happened and Cole had actually gotten let go. Without being rude in how I say this, I was very concerned when Cole was no longer there about what was going to happen and what was going to take place.”

Cole Pearn’s departure from Furniture Row in 2011 was a significant jolt to the team’s engineering stability. He had initially joined the team as an engineer around 2010, shifted over to JTG Daugherty Racing in 2011, leaving FR without one of its key technical minds. Smith admitted, “The one thing that I pushed harder for out there than anything else, and that I lost my mind over, was we need him here. We need him here. We can’t do this. This is our speed. And in terms of a leadership role from finding that speed and making sure all of our engineering was going good, he was the guy.”

This wasn’t just about lap times; it was about endurance, mental toughness, and understanding how to push at the edge without blowing up. This led to the team’s realization, as Smith narrated, “Everything that we’ve been building on for three years, it’s like we just threw it all away. It was gone. And we were running terrible. And I want to say it was after Sonoma, I had a chat in the rental car heading to the airport with some of the leadership. And I just said, guys, what are we doing… If we know we’ve got good people that we can get here tomorrow, why don’t we do it? And shortly after that, the change was made. And actually, Cole Pearn and Todd Berrier were brought back together.”

When Pearn returned to the team in 2012, he rejoined as the team’s lead race engineer and became a foundational force in their rise. Over succeeding seasons, Pearn’s technical vision and consistency paired especially well with Martin Truex Jr., culminating in their dominant 2017 Cup Series championship, where Truex won 8 races under Pearn’s direction. Under Pearn’s influence, FR transformed from a dark-horse single-car team into a perennial contender, proving what a sharp engineering mind and strong driver partnership can achieve in NASCAR.

Smith, too, was riding a momentum spike for Furniture Row Racing that many in NASCAR hadn’t seen coming. He narrated a chain of events that preceded the momentum fall, saying, “2011 was the year that all of a sudden, ‘okay, now we’re showing up, we’re qualifying good everywhere, we’re fast.’ Some races, we didn’t know how to put it together all the way through the end, and a lot of that would depend on me. I was still very green in terms of the Cup Series and finding my way in the Cup Series.”

But Smith had other plans, just as Pearn was brought back in for the damage control. After being replaced at Furniture Row for the 2013 season, Smith moved to JR Motorsports to run full-time in the Nationwide (Xfinity) Series, driving the No. 5 car. Yet, Smith still remains thankful to Pearn for his assistance throughout.

“And I remember having a conversation with Cole before the Indy race. And I said, is it going to be a little better… And he said, it was worse than I thought it was going to be…. And the first lap of practice, I went into turn one at Indy and I was like, ‘oh, yeah, we can attain what I’m trying to find here… And unfortunately, my ship had already sailed and there was other plans in place there where I wasn’t going to be there any longer. But that Furniture Row for me was a lot of fun,” he said.

Pearn’s legacy shows that the sharpest minds behind the pit wall can transform underdogs into champions, leaving an enduring mark on NASCAR. But for Smith, life transformed even further after he joined broadcasting.

Ex-NASCAR Cup Series driver’s hindsight on his toughest decisions

After hanging up his helmet, the 42-year-old Regan Smith shifted gears into broadcasting in 2018. His last full-time ride came with Tommy Baldwin Racing’s No. 7 Chevrolet in 2016, with a brief return in 2018 filling in for Kasey Kahne at Leavine Family Racing. Now a FOX Sports pit reporter, Regan Smith brings a unique driver’s insight to fans. Yet, even while thriving in this new role, Smith looks back at his Cup career with a sense of unfinished business.

Speaking with Kevin Harvick, he admitted, “I would have waited if I could have. There was other factors in play in that decision and, and that I couldn’t get around and, and it was stuff that had nothing to do with the racetrack, and it was stuff that had to do with at the time, Ginn had merged with DEI, right? And it was a really complicated merger and, and the way the teams were consolidated.” The Ginn Racing-DEI merger in 2007 saw him paired with veteran Mark Martin in the No. 01 before he was unexpectedly shifted to a full-time Cup role.

Reflecting on that period, Smith explained, “Had I been able to say, ‘No, I’m going to wait and, and I’m not ready for Cup,’ I would have done it in a heartbeat… I think a driver also knows when they are and when they’re not ready.” While he valued the chance to learn from Martin, he acknowledged that rushing into the Cup Series may have cost him valuable time to refine his skills. Today, as a broadcaster, Smith uses those lessons to offer fans an honest, behind-the-scenes view of NASCAR.