Regan Smith's debut wasn't perfect. But he still made some noise in NASCAR.

Racing for the first time in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, the Cato native earned a 25th-place finish and walked away with a payday of more than $103,000 in the Food City 500 on Sunday.

Smith, who drove the No. 01 Chevrolet during the first Car of Tomorrow race at Bristol Motor Speedway, took the keys for Mark Martin, who was leading the series in points before the race. Martin dropped to eighth after skipping the race.

Despite finishing in the lower half of the field of 43, Smith, who started 12th after qualifying and completed 501 of the 504 laps, fared better than several of NASCAR's biggest names. Among them are Elliott Sadler (27th), Kurt Busch (29th), Tony Stewart (35th) and fellow rookie Juan Pablo Montoya (32nd).

The race comes a day after finishing 36th in the Busch Sharpie Mini 300, during which Smith failed to finish after an accident.

For the complete story, read Monday's edition of The CItizen