 At the fourth round, the Indianapolis 500, Smith qualified twice for the race but was bumped from the field.His second bumping at the hands of Didier Theys happened just 6 minutes before the end of qualifications that year, an outcome that added to the Speedway myth about "The Curse of the Smiths"..

Smith continued to show good pace his rookie year with several top 10 qualifying performances.At the Grand Prix of Portland, the 7th round of the season, Smith qualified the Arciero PC-21/Chevy B 6th on the grid between the Lolas' of Danny Sullivan and Mario Andretti.