65-year-old Captain R.K. Smithley has been an instrumental figure in fighting the Los Angeles wildfires as a pilot flying a 400,000-pound airplane that drops fire retardant material over the city. This man on a mission is the father of Garrett Smithley, a NASCAR driver who is set to race full-time in the Xfinity Series in 2025. The captain spoke to The Athletic about his job and explained what it takes to be such a superman.
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He said, “Some guys adapt to this, some don’t. It takes kind of a little bit of a psycho, for lack of a better word, to adapt and excel. You’ve got to be able to excel at this and be able to put retardant on the ground in very challenging conditions, as we’ve had out here in California.”
Flying a massive airplane through thick smoke while dealing with a hilly terrain is no joke. But that’s what Smithley and his fellow men are doing so expertly in service of the city. The captain has been a pilot since 1983 and has flown air tankers to various zones across the country. But the task he has at hand is unlike any other.
The fires that began in the L.A. region last week are some of the most destructive disasters in history. They spanned over 38,000 acres, according to various reports, and have killed over 24 people. Thousands of residences have been burnt to the ground, and over 100,000 people have been forced to evacuate. The sheer scale of it all instills deep fear in many hearts.
But not in Smithley’s. He works for 10 Tanker, a firefighting company based in Mexico. Along with his team, he has made several runs to drop off gallons of fire retardant. In times they aren’t busy firefighting, Smithley and his team often talk about the career of 32-year-old Garrett. He opened up on the same in his interview.
He drew a parallel between his son’s job and his by stating, “During pre-race, Garrett is walking around, signing autographs, then when it’s time to go race, the heart rate starts coming up. We’re the same deal — until the phone rings and they say you’re going to the Palisades fire. Then you load the fire retardant, and you go.”
Garrett has started 266 races in NASCAR, of which 76 are in the Cup Series. In 2025, he will drive the No. 14 car for SS Greenlight Racing. Before then, he will pilot the No. 66 Garage 66 entry in the Clash at the Bowman Gray stadium.
