CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS


The Board of Directors
Smithway Motor Xpress Corp.:

We consent to incorporation  by reference in the  Registration  Statements (Nos.
333-10249,  333-10251,  333-21253,  and 333-81855) on Form S-8 of Smithway Motor
Xpress Corp.  of our report  dated  February 3, 2000,  relating to  consolidated
balance sheets of Smithway Motor Xpress Corp.  and  subsidiaries  as of December
31,  1999  and  1998,  and the  related  consolidated  statements  of  earnings,
stockholders'  equity,  and cash  flows for each of the years in the  three-year
period ended  December 31, 1999,  which report  appears in the December 31, 1999
Annual Report on Form 10-K of Smithway Motor Xpress Corp.

                                  /s/ KPMG LLP