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. Early in the race while challenging for 5th Smith retired with a broken gearbox. The Penske transverse gearbox at the back of the PC-21 plagued Arcerio during the 1993 season. After the Grand Prix of Portland in June, Smith retired from the next five races in a row with gearbox problems. Of the 13 races Arciero entered in 1993 the team finished four races, scoring points in three of those four races.