The 2013 Aaron’s 312 at Talladega Superspeedway was a wild one, a perfect storm of NASCAR’s high-stakes drama. As the laps ticked down, a massive multi-car wreck exploded on the final lap, cars spinning and fans holding their breath. In the chaos, Regan Smith in the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevy found himself leading when the caution flew, declared the winner despite not crossing first.

It was poetic justice for Smith, echoing his 2008 Talladega heartbreak where the yellow line rule robbed him of victory. Now, after years behind the mic as a FOX Sports broadcaster, Smith’s stepping away from racing coverage forever, sharing how his view of the sport has shifted from driver to fan.

Smith’s shift from driver to spectator

On a recent Happy Hour podcast with Kevin Harvick, Regan Smith got candid about life after the wheel. “You see a lot of it now from the outside. Looking in from the pit reporter booths. So you see all these different things when you watch on. Let’s just take Sunday when you watch on Sunday. How has it changed from? How has all that changed from your perspective into what you watched today? What do the drivers do, the difference in the garage, and how it operates?” Harvick asked.

Smith replied, “Well, I think watching as a fan, I still watch the same way, right? Like I want to watch the cars, I want to watch what’s going on from the TV standpoint. I don’t watch the same way cuz I’m picking out other stuff and I’m paying attention to maybe what a pit reporter is saying or what the booth is saying or different things like that.”

Smith’s point is spot-on. Being in the booth changes the lens. He’s still glued to the action, craving the cars and drama, but now he’s tuned into the broadcast layers: pit reports, booth banter, camera angles. It’s a hybrid view, blending fan passion with insider eyes.

“Oh, I want to see that. Oh, why’d they go away from that little stuff like that, right? So you critique some of that a little bit more,” he added. That shift from cockpit immersion to critiquing coverage is the mark of a broadcaster who’s lived both worlds, spotting the little things fans miss but insiders catch.

But the big change? “But you know, I think watching the races, I still watch him the same way I watch him. I want to be entertained. I like the rivalries, and if there’s one thing that may have changed for me personally has changed right? Is stuff that, as a driver, maybe I would have frowned upon or looked at and thought ‘Oh, don’t do that.’”

Smith’s softened on the rough stuff. What he once saw as reckless or unsportsmanlike now adds to the show. “That’s bad now. I look at it and haven’t seen it kind of from both different aspects, I’m like. Oh yeah, do that. Do something crazy,” he said. It’s the perspective of a guy who’s taken the hit but now appreciates the entertainment value, like cheering a bold move that’d have irked him as a driver.

He summed it up, “I think that’s really the only big difference from my perspective, but you know I say that and I’ll watch her. I’ll watch next weekend at Kansas, and I’ll lose my mind over something that maybe I’m not thinking of right now.” Smith’s still got that racer’s fire.

Kansas could spark a rant over a bad call or wreck, but his fan-first joy keeps the love alive. After calling races for FOX, stepping away forever means he’ll watch like the rest of us, rooting for the chaos that makes NASCAR tick.

Smith’s broadcast farewell ties to NASCAR’s shifting landscape, where legends like him pave the way for new voices, much like Rodney Childers’ move to JR Motorsports in 2026.

Childers joins JR Motorsports

The 40-time Cup crew chief, fresh off a stint with Justin Haley at Spire, will lead JRM’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series team, formerly Xfinity. “Rodney’s resume and career speak for themselves,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. Childers, who guided Kevin Harvick to 37 wins and the 2014 title at Stewart-Haas Racing, is excited.

“I’m so excited to be joining the JRM family. To see what Dale, Kelley, and Mr. H have built here is quite amazing, and their results speak for themselves.  Dale and Kelley have meant a lot to me for some 30 years, and I can’t wait to be part of this group. Plus, I get to be the lucky guy to lead two amazing young men with a huge amount of talent and a big future in our sport.”

He’ll be crew chief for Carson Kvapil and Connor Zilisch in the No. 1 Chevy, a dynamic duo blending Kvapil’s Xfinity promise and Zilisch’s 10-win rookie tear. As Smith bids farewell to the booth, Childers’ JRM arrival shows the sport’s evolution. Veterans like him mentor the next wave, keeping the family feeling alive.

Smith’s fan perspective will cheer from the stands, while Childers builds JRM’s future. Both mark the end and start of eras, reminding us NASCAR is as much about the voices calling the race as the cars crossing the line.