🏁S.M.A.S.H Driver Spotlight: Chris Trammell, Controlled, Conservative, and Finding a Brotherhood

By S.M.A.S.H — June 15, 2026

Some drivers find iRacing because they are looking for something new.

Others find it because everything else stopped feeling real enough.

Chris Trammell fits that second group.

The driver of the No. 9 came to iRacing looking for a more realistic racing experience at a time when the racing games available simply were not close enough to what he wanted. He had the competitive interest. He had the racing fire. He just needed something that felt more like the real thing.

That search led him to iRacing.

But the path to S.M.A.S.H came later.

Chris had been sim racing on and off since around 2014. Like a lot of drivers, he spent time in official races, learned the platform, stepped away at times, came back, and kept searching for the kind of racing that made him want to keep showing up.

Eventually, official races started wearing him down.

He was getting burnt out.

He was close to stepping away from iRacing again.

Then he saw a post from Daryl Griffin.

That changed everything.

“League racing has always interested me, but never fit my schedule. I was getting burnt out running officials and entertained the idea of just seeing what was out there. First post I seen was from Daryl and it spoke out to me, so I joined the Discord to check it out. He started messaging with me and I was hooked. It was exactly what I’ve been wanting.”

That is the kind of answer that says a lot.

Chris was not just looking for another place to race.

He was looking for the right place to race.

And when he found S.M.A.S.H, it became more than just a league.

“I didn’t just find the league I have always wanted and looking for. I found a home, a brotherhood.”

Background

Name: Chris Trammell

Number: #9

Sim Racing Start: Around 2014

Real-Life Job: Management at PCA

Chris has been around sim racing for more than a decade, even if it has been on and off. His entry into iRacing came from wanting a racing experience that felt more serious, more realistic, and more rewarding than what traditional racing games were giving him at the time.

“Was looking for a more realistic racing experience when the current racing games at the time were just not close at all.”

That search eventually became a long-running connection with sim racing.

But finding S.M.A.S.H gave it a different meaning.

Officials can be fun. Officials can be competitive. Officials can teach a driver a lot.

But league racing is different.

League racing creates names, rivalries, trust, accountability, and weekly storylines. Drivers learn each other. They know who they can race hard with. They know who they can draft with. They know who will own a mistake and who will make them better.

That is what pulled Chris in.

S.M.A.S.H gave him the racing environment he had been missing.

The Approach

Chris describes his driving style as controlled and conservative.

But that does not mean passive.

“Controlled and conservative, forgiving but aggressive when need be.”

That is an important balance.

A driver can be clean without being slow.

A driver can be patient without being afraid to race.

A driver can give room and still stand his ground when the moment calls for it.

That is the line Chris tries to walk.

He is not looking to force every issue. He is not trying to win a race on lap one. But when it is time to be aggressive, he is willing to step into that moment.

In league racing, that approach matters.

The fastest driver does not always win.

The driver who knows when to push, when to protect, when to lift, and when to make the move often gives himself the better chance at the end.

Chris understands that.

His biggest strength is not just one skill behind the wheel. It is the ability to learn from the drivers around him.

“Learning from other drivers and applying different techniques to improve before and during a race.”

That is how drivers grow inside S.M.A.S.H.

Every race becomes a lesson.

Every battle becomes information.

Every driver in the field can teach something if you are willing to pay attention.

Chris is willing to pay attention.

Still Chasing Tire Saving

Every driver has something they are working on.

For Chris, it is tire saving.

“Tire saving! I’ve learned a lot of how to do this and apply it in each race when long runs come on.”

That is one of the biggest challenges in oval racing.

Anybody can fire off fast for a few laps.

The real question is what happens after the tires start falling away.

Can a driver keep the car underneath him?

Can he avoid overdriving entry?

Can he stay disciplined on throttle?

Can he keep enough left for the end of a long run?

Chris knows that is where he needs to keep improving.

His season goal reflects that mindset.

“Improve on long runs to be more competitive at the end where it pays off.”

That is a mature answer.

It is not just about qualifying speed.

It is not just about one-lap pace.

It is about being better when the race matters most.

In S.M.A.S.H, long-run strength can turn a decent night into a top-five finish. It can turn survival into opportunity. It can put a driver in position when others have used up too much too soon.

That is the next step Chris is chasing.

Tracks That Fit the Style

When it comes to favorite tracks, Chris points to Dover.

“Dover because I’ve always felt more comfortable there. Feels like Bristol but faster and more loose.”

That answer fits his style.

Dover is not an easy track.

It is fast, physical, and demanding. The corners come quickly. The banking carries speed. Mistakes can stack up fast. Drivers have to commit, but they also have to respect the edge of the car.

For Chris, that rhythm feels natural.

Dover gives him the short-track feel he likes, but with more speed and a looser race car underneath him.

The toughest tracks are different.

Road courses are the challenge.

“Any road course. They are fun to learn, but trusting the car behind me is the real challenge.”

That is a real answer for a lot of oval drivers.

Road courses require trust in a different way. Passing zones are tighter. Braking zones are more dangerous. A small misjudgment from the car behind can ruin a corner, a lap, or an entire race.

Chris does not dislike the challenge.

He just knows where the difficulty is.

Learning the track is one thing.

Trusting what happens behind you is another.

Career Highlights

When asked about his most memorable race moment, Chris did not point to the obvious answer.

He did not pick his Daytona win.

He did not even pick one single race.

He picked the battles.

“It’s not my Daytona win, it’s not even one single race. It’s each little tight battle that I remember the most.”

That answer says a lot about what league racing means to him.

Wins matter.

Results matter.

But the moments that stay with a driver are often the ones that do not show up fully on a results page.

Side-by-side racing.

A long battle where both drivers give respect.

Short-track pressure at North Wilkesboro and Martinsville.

Speedway runs where trust matters and every movement has consequences.

Chris pointed to those moments, including racing at Homestead and wall riding with Lee Richardson IV.

Those are the pieces of a season that build a driver’s connection to a league.

Not just where he finished.

But who he raced.

How hard the battle was.

How clean it stayed.

And how much respect was earned along the way.

Life Outside the Car

Outside of sim racing, Chris is focused on family, work, and the outdoors.

When asked what he does outside of racing, his answer was simple.

“Spend time with my wife and son, and unfortunately work.”

His real-life job is management at PCA.

He joked that it is not as exciting as some of the jobs inside the league.

“Not exciting at all like playing in the dirt like Lee or challenging my fate every day with energy like Daryl, but the money is great.”

Away from work, Chris spends his time with family and outdoors.

His weekends are often filled with kayaking, fishing with his son, swimming, local water parks, riding four-wheelers around the fields, going to local short-track races, hunting in the fall, and anything else that gets him outside.

That gives a good picture of Chris away from the sim.

Family first.

Outdoors whenever possible.

Racing when the schedule allows.

That is part of what made S.M.A.S.H important to him. League racing had always interested him, but the schedule had to fit. When S.M.A.S.H finally lined up with what he needed, it gave him a place where racing could fit into the rest of his life.

Mindset

Chris does not model his driving style after one specific driver.

At least not seriously.

“No, not really. I’d like to think I’m Jimmie Johnson sometimes, but I finish like Bubba Wallace.”

That answer has humor in it, but it also shows perspective.

Chris knows who he is as a driver.

He is not pretending to have everything figured out.

He is not acting like he is already the finished product.

He is still learning.

Still improving.

Still trying to figure out how to be better at the end of a run and sharper in the moments that matter.

When asked whether he is aggressive or calculated, he gave the honest answer.

“Mixture of both honestly. I try to calculate, but the competition here sometimes forces me to be more aggressive at times.”

That is league racing.

A driver can enter a race with a plan.

Then the field forces decisions.

The pace changes.

The battle changes.

The pressure changes.

Sometimes the smart move is patience.

Sometimes the smart move is aggression.

Chris is still finding that balance, but he understands that both sides matter.

S.M.A.S.H Perspective

When asked what makes S.M.A.S.H different from other leagues, Chris gave an answer that carries weight because this is his first and only league.

He is not comparing it to five other places.

He is speaking from what this league has become for him.

“Since this is my first and only league, I can truly say it’s the people who keep me anchored here.”

That matters.

Cars can bring drivers in.

Schedules can bring drivers in.

But people are what keep drivers around.

Chris never expected to meet the kind of group he found in S.M.A.S.H.

“I never expected to meet such a great group of guys, with different race styles, and make it work on the track at the same time. The racing and competition has been awesome, almost unreal.”

That is the identity S.M.A.S.H is trying to build.

Different drivers.

Different styles.

Different personalities.

But the racing still works because the respect is there.

Chris also pointed to how clean and competitive the racing has been.

“It’s still surprising every weekend to see how clean, competitive, and respectful every single driver is.”

That is not something every league can say.

And it is not something that happens by accident.

It takes drivers buying in.

It takes accountability.

It takes Race Control.

It takes admins setting a standard.

It takes the field respecting the bigger picture.

Chris sees that inside S.M.A.S.H.

Competition Level

Chris sees the competition level inside S.M.A.S.H as strong from front to back.

“It’s great, from the aliens to last place, everyone is respectful and motivated regardless of their position on track.”

That is one of the best signs of a healthy league.

The fastest drivers push the front.

The mid-pack drivers battle hard.

The developing drivers keep improving.

Everyone has a reason to show up.

Everyone has someone to race.

Everyone has another step to chase.

Chris respects that the motivation does not disappear just because a driver is not leading the race. Drivers throughout the field still race with purpose. They still care about doing things the right way. They still compete with respect.

That makes the entire league better.

When the back half of the field races with the same respect as the front, the product improves for everyone.

Rivalries & Edge

When asked who the toughest drivers are to race against, Chris named two drivers right away.

Lee Richardson IV.

Austin Gum.

“I seem to find myself around them, and those two have me driving the wheels off the car anytime I’m around them.”

That is a sign of respect.

Some drivers make you sharper.

Some drivers force you to be cleaner.

Some drivers bring out another level because you know one mistake will cost you.

For Chris, Lee and Austin are those drivers.

But he was clear that S.M.A.S.H has plenty of tough competition beyond those two. They just happen to be the drivers he often finds himself racing around.

When asked who he would trust drafting with late in a race, Chris gave a wider list.

Lee Richardson IV.

Austin Gum.

Daryl Griffin.

Shane Marcum.

Johnny Bobby Brown.

But the reason matters.

“Not because they’re admins, because I’ve been around them enough to know their style and they’re more predictable.”

That is exactly what matters in drafting.

Trust is not about titles.

Trust is not about friendship.

Trust is about predictability.

Can the driver hold a line?

Can they make smart moves?

Can they stay calm when the pack gets tight?

Can they help you without putting both cars in danger?

Chris trusts drivers he has been around enough to understand.

That kind of trust only comes from laps together.

Payback and Perspective

Chris was honest when asked if he has ever rage quit a race.

“Of course, official race before I joined the league.”

That answer connects directly to why S.M.A.S.H mattered to him.

Before joining the league, official races had pushed him close to stepping away from iRacing again. He was frustrated enough that finding a league became almost a last-chance situation.

Then S.M.A.S.H gave him a reason to stay.

Asked if he is owed payback or if he owes anyone else, Chris kept things guarded.

“I never show my next move.”

That answer has a little edge to it.

But when asked if anyone owes him an apology, his answer showed the bigger picture.

“On the current roster, no one. Mostly everyone is quick to own their mistakes right away and are quick to take accountability for them, which means a lot to me.”

That is important.

Incidents happen.

Mistakes happen.

Drivers get frustrated.

But accountability changes everything.

When drivers own their mistakes, reach out, and handle things the right way, trust gets rebuilt. The league gets stronger. The racing gets better.

Chris notices that.

And it matters to him.

Goals for the Season

Chris’ goal for the season is clear.

He wants to improve on long runs and be more competitive when the race reaches the point where it pays off.

That fits everything else about his spotlight.

He is not chasing one lucky lap.

He is chasing race-long improvement.

He wants to save tires better.

He wants to learn from other drivers.

He wants to stay controlled.

He wants to be aggressive when the moment calls for it, but calculated enough to finish.

Those are the goals of a driver who understands that league racing is a process.

You do not become better by accident.

You become better by showing up, paying attention, learning from the field, and applying it the next time.

Chris is doing that.

Final Word

Chris Trammell came to iRacing because he wanted something more realistic.

He came to S.M.A.S.H because he needed something better than the official racing that was wearing him down.

What he found was a league that gave him exactly what he had been looking for.

Competition.

Clean racing.

Respect.

Accountability.

And a brotherhood.

The driver of the No. 9 is controlled and conservative, but willing to be aggressive when the race demands it. He is still working on tire saving, still chasing better long-run pace, and still learning from the drivers around him.

Dover is his comfort zone.

Road courses are his challenge.

The battles mean more to him than the trophies.

And the people are what keep him anchored inside S.M.A.S.H.

That is what makes Chris Trammell’s story fit this league.

He nearly walked away from iRacing.

Instead, he found a home.

Integrity • Respect • Competition

S.M.A.S.H — Sim Motorsports Association Series of Horsepower