Catchfence

FORT WORTH, Texas (April 19, 2010) — Regan Smith’s Furniture Row team finished 21st in Monday’s rain-delayed Samsung Mobile 500 Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Though Smith wrestled with the handling of the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet, he managed to keep the car out of trouble, which paid big dividends for the Denver, Colo.-based team.

With 15 laps remaining in the 334-lap, 501-mile race, Smith was struggling in 31st position. But a nine-car wreck in front of him gave Smith an opportunity to successfully gain 10 positions.

“We’re still learning with these RCR-built cars (Richard Childress Racing),” said Smith. “We’re getting better. We just need to be a little more patient. But being patient is hard sometimes because we know that we’re capable of running better than what we have shown recently. I am not sure if we even deserved a 21st-place finish today, but that’s not important. What’s important is that we’re grinding hard and keeping a positive attitude.”

Furniture Row Racing crew chief Ryan Coniam said the team needs to continue to work hard to find a combination that will work for Smith.

“We weren’t good today and didn’t give Regan what he needed,” said the 30-year-old Coniam. “We need to make Regan feel comfortable in the car. He’s a good driver, but we need to give him a set-up that he is comfortable with.”

Smith gained one spot in the point standings and is now 31st.

The race winner was Denny Hamlin. Rounding out the top-five in order were: Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch and Kasey Kahne.

The next Cup race is Sunday (April 25) at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

- DMF Communications for Furniture Row Racing, Press Release