Smith spent the first seven years of his career riding for the Belle Vue Aces from 1982 to 1988.[4] He then joined Bradford Dukes for two British League seasons and began to build a reputation as one of Britain's leading riders. Smith also rode in Australia, including the 1990/91 Australian season when he based himself at Claremont Speedway in Perth, Western Australia. Despite Claremont being almost twice the length of most British tracks, on 18 January 1991 Smith defeated home town hero, and twice Australian Champion Glenn Doyle in the King of Claremont Classic. Smith also finished 2nd to Sweden's Dennis Löfqvist at the 1990 Boxing Day International at the Melbourne Showgrounds.
After joining the Coventry Bees in 1992[5] he went on to win the British Speedway Championship three times in a row in 1993, 1994, and 1995, giving him the distinction of being one of only three riders ever to achieve this feat.[6] He rode for Coventry for four seasons but did return for the 1997 season.[7]
From 1998 until 2001 Smith rode a second stint at Belle Vue and recorded a 8.27 average during the 1999 Elite League speedway season. He did not ride in the United Kingdom for the 2002 season, spending his time in Poland.
He would spend 16 seasons racing in the Polish leagues after making his Polish league debut in 1992.[1] He also continued to ride for various clubs in England until the end of the 2007 seasons.