Regan Smith to replace Kyle Larson
— -- MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Chip Ganassi Racing driver Kyle Larson remained hospitalized after fainting Saturday following an autograph session at Martinsville Speedway and was replaced by Regan Smith in Sunday's STP 500.
Larson, who is 18th in the Cup standings and was scheduled to start seventh in the race Sunday, was checked out at Martinsville Memorial Hospital.
Although everything checked out fine, it was suggested Larson see a neurologist. With one not available in Martinsville, Larson went to Charlotte to be seen Saturday night at Carolinas Medical Center.
"Although all tests came back negative and Larson feels completely fine, the doctors felt he should be held for more testing today," the team said in a statement.
Larson would still be eligible for the Chase for the Sprint Cup despite missing the race because he had qualified for the event, satisfying the rule that a driver must compete each weekend.
Smith, who drives full time in the Xfinity Series for JR Motorpsorts and has 175 career Cup starts, filled in for Kurt Busch for the first three races this year when Busch was suspended.
Smith has nine career Cup starts at Martinsville, with a best of 13th in 2011. He had not raced at Martinsville since April 2013, when he competed for car owner James Finch. Despite starting at the rear of the field because of a driver change, Smith finished 16th on Sunday.
Smith, who was home in North Carolina because the Xfinity Series does not compete this weekend, went to the Ganassi shop Saturday night to get fitted for a seat in case Larson couldn't compete Sunday. They got him fitted into a seat of Larson teammate Jamie McMurray because McMurray and Smith are more similar in size.
Smith went to sleep not knowing if he was going to race and woke up at 5:30 a.m. ET and saw he got a text that Ganassi needed him to replace Larson.
"I went to bed mentally prepared for if something happened, I'm ready to race," said Smith, who previously had planned to watch the race with his wife and their newborn at home. "Last night, I would do what I would normally do on a race night only because I didn't know the situation or the circumstances surrounding any of it. I really didn't know -- it was one of those where you just wake up and see what the deal is and go from there."
Smith has made somewhat of a name for himself as a substitute driver. He replaced Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2012 for two weeks because of a concussion. He also replaced Tony Stewart at Watkins Glen last year the day after Stewart struck and killed Kevin Ward Jr., who had gotten out of his sprint car and approached Stewart's car on a short track in New York.
"I made it clear I want to get back to doing this on a more permanent basis on the Cup side, so if being the guy everybody calls on can lead to that down the road, then that's great," Smith said. "These situations, they're not easy. You are hopping into somebody else's car, somebody else's setup, somebody else's team, somebody else's guys and trying to plug yourself in as best you can and do as good as you can for that team and for those guys.
"With that said, you try to make the most of it."
Related Stories
ABC News Live