Zane Smith

Zane Michael Smith (born June 9, 1999) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 38 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Front Row Motorsports. He is the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion, a title he earned while driving for FRM.

Smith previously competed full-time in the Craftsman Truck Series for GMS Racing, finishing as the championship runner-up in both 2020 and 2021. Earlier in his career, he also finished second in the 2018 ARCA Racing Series standings while driving for MDM Motorsports. Additionally, he has made part-time appearances in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with JR Motorsports and in Stadium Super Trucks.

Racing career

Early career

Starting with Racing Snails, Smith transitioned to Go-Karting in 2004, where he dominated by winning championships for five consecutive years. He then advanced to legends car racing before moving up to super late models in 2015. That year, he achieved victories in the World Series of Asphalt, the Pro All Stars Series, and the CARS Tour, in addition to securing a runner-up finish in the prestigious Snowball Derby.

2016

Building on his success in late model racing, Smith tested an ARCA Menards Series car with Mason Mitchell Motorsports at Daytona International Speedway in January 2016. However, a Wakeskating injury sidelined him early that year. He eventually returned to compete in two ARCA races with Venturini Motorsports. By late summer 2016, Smith parted ways with his SLM team, aiming to gain more ARCA experience in 2017.

2017

In late 2016, Smith signed with Venturini Motorsports to drive all but two races of the 2017 ARCA Racing Series schedule in the No. 55 entry. Noah Gragson filled the other two races, as Smith was ineligible to compete due to age restrictions. Competing for Rookie of the Year honors, Smith joined the same crew that had guided Dalton Sargeant to the award the previous year. Smith also competed in a partial K&N Pro Series East schedule, debuting with Calabrese Motorsports early in 2017. Additionally, he stepped in for Ryan Partridge at the K&N Pro Series West season opener after Partridge was unable to obtain a license in time. In April 2017, Smith was named to the NASCAR Next class, a program highlighting up-and-coming talent. In August, Smith and Venturini parted ways after a strong run that included eight top-ten finishes in eleven races. Later in the season, Smith joined MDM Motorsports for three races, achieving two poles and two runner-up finishes.

2018

On November 6, 2017, Smith re-signed with MDM Motorsports for the 2018 season to compete full-time in their No. 41 Toyota. He claimed his first victory in the second race of the season, outlasting teammate Sheldon Creed and overcoming three previous runner-up finishes. Two races later, Smith secured a historic win at Talladega Superspeedway in ARCA’s closest-ever finish. The margin of victory was so tight—recorded as 0.00 seconds—that officials relied on photo evidence to determine the winner. In the next event, Smith made a bold three-wide pass involving Chandler Smith (no relation) and lapped car Mike Basham to take the lead. He later overtook teammate Chase Purdy with fewer than ten laps remaining to secure another victory, with assistance from 2017 ARCA champion Austin Theriault, who served as his spotter at Toledo Speedway. In May 2018, Smith was also named to the NASCAR Next program for the second consecutive year. Later in the season at Salem Speedway, Smith clashed repeatedly with Michael Self, causing his radiator to fail mid-race. After returning to the track, Smith deliberately slowed to wait for Self, then rammed him into the outside wall. In a subsequent MAVTV interview, Smith openly bragged about the incident. As a result, ARCA fined him US$5,000 and docked 100 points, though many within the industry criticized the penalty as too lenient. NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Scott Heckert expressed concerns about the safety implications of intentional wrecks. Despite the penalty, Smith finished second in the season standings. Reflecting on the season, he revealed that his full-time campaign was not initially planned but became possible as his performance helped secure sponsorships for the remainder of the schedule.

In June 2018, Smith made his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut with DGR-Crosley, driving the No. 54 truck at Gateway Motorsports Park. The deal came together just days before the race, requiring Smith to quickly secure his licenses. Despite the last-minute preparations, he qualified tenth and finished an impressive fifth.

2019

On December 18, 2018, JR Motorsports announced that Smith would drive the No. 9 entry in the Xfinity Series for eight races during the 2019 season, primarily at short tracks. This opportunity arose after a full-time Truck Series deal with GMS Racing fell through. However, on January 25, 2019, it was confirmed that Smith would instead switch to the No. 8 car, as Noah Gragson took over the No. 9 entry.

2020

Smith joined GMS Racing for the full 2020 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series season. On August 7, he earned his first career Truck Series victory at the Henry Ford Health System 200, overtaking Christian Eckes on the final lap in overtime. Two weeks later, he secured his second win at the KDI Office Technology 200, holding off Matt Crafton and Brett Moffitt on the final restart. Smith advanced to the championship round as the only non-playoff race winner among the final four drivers. He finished runner-up to GMS teammate Sheldon Creed in both the season finale at the Lucas Oil 150 and the overall standings. In recognition of his impressive season, Smith received NASCAR Rookie of the Year honors and was voted the Truck Series' Most Popular Driver.

2021

Smith returned to GMS Racing for the 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. On October 30, he secured his third career Truck Series victory at the United Rentals 200 after Stewart Friesen spun Todd Gilliland in front of the field. The win clinched Smith's spot in the Championship 4 race at Phoenix. In the season finale, the Lucas Oil 150, Smith was passed with eight laps remaining and finished fifth in the race, ultimately placing second in the championship standings behind Ben Rhodes.

In May 2021, Smith made a one-off return to the NASCAR Xfinity Series as a substitute driver for Justin Haley, who was sidelined due to COVID-19 protocols. Smith drove the No. 11 car for Kaulig Racing at the Drydene 200.

2022

On November 30, 2021, Smith was announced as the driver of the No. 38 truck for Front Row Motorsports in the 2022 NASCAR Truck Series season. Smith began the season with a victory at Daytona, securing his fourth career Truck Series win after holding off Ben Rhodes in overtime. At Las Vegas, he initially finished second, but a post-race inspection revealed a lug nut violation, resulting in his disqualification. Smith rebounded with a fifth-place finish at Atlanta and earned his second win of the season at Circuit of the Americas, where he dominated by winning both stages. The victory came after Alex Bowman collided with front-runners Stewart Friesen and Kyle Busch, allowing Smith to capitalize. After the CRC Brakleen 150 at Pocono Raceway, Smith clinched the regular-season championship. He capped off an impressive season by winning the championship race at Phoenix on November 4, securing his first NASCAR Truck Series title and delivering Front Row Motorsports its first-ever NASCAR championship.

On June 2, 2022, RFK Racing driver Chris Buescher tested positive for COVID-19, forcing him to miss the Cup Series race at Gateway. Smith was announced as his replacement, marking Smith's debut in the Cup Series. After starting 32nd, Smith finished seventeenth on the lead lap.

2023

Smith began the 2023 season by winning at Daytona for the second consecutive year. He also secured a victory at the Circuit of the Americas and earned eight top-five finishes during the regular season. In the playoffs, Smith advanced to the Round of 8 but was eliminated after being disqualified at Homestead when post-race inspection revealed unapproved windshield supports.

In June 2023, Smith competed in the Xfinity Series at Nashville, driving the No. 28 car for RSS Racing as a replacement for Kyle Sieg, who drove the No. 29. Smith finished seventh in the race.

In the Cup Series, Smith drove the Front Row Motorsports No. 36 to a thirteenth place finish at the 2023 Daytona 500 and later piloted the Rick Ware Racing No. 51 at Martinsville.

2024

On September 16, 2023, Smith signed a multi-year deal with Trackhouse Racing. As part of the agreement, Smith would drive Spire Motorsports' third team in 2024, with plans to join Trackhouse full-time in a third car in 2025. Smith’s 2024 season started with eighteen consecutive finishes outside the top-ten, averaging a disappointing 28.1. His best finish during that stretch was 13th at the Daytona 500. At Nashville, Smith was in contention for his first career victory in the closing laps but ultimately finished second to Joey Logano, marking his career-best Cup Series finish and his first-ever top-five. Despite showing some promise, Smith announced on August 23 that he would part ways with Trackhouse and Spire. This decision was reportedly due to his inconsistent performance and Trackhouse’s interest in promoting Shane van Gisbergen to the Cup Series.[citation needed] Smith concluded the 2024 season with two top-five finishes and four top-tens.

2025

On January 2, 2025, Front Row Motorsports announced that Smith will return to the team as the driver of the No. 38 Ford Dark Horse Mustang for 2025. Smith began the season with a 36th-place DNF at the Daytona 500. Smith would earn his first career Cup Series pole at Talladega in the spring and scored 3 top 10 finishes, but missed the playoffs after finishing 28th in regular season points. During the race at Kansas in the fall, Smith's car overturned in an incident with John Hunter Nemechek during an overtime attempt. Entering turn 3, Nemechek overdrove the corner and slid up from the middle lane, colliding with Smith, who was on his outside. Smith's car was squeezed into the outside wall, which lifted the passenger side off the ground as the car grinded along the wall on its driver's side. The car slid with the floor in contact with the wall for several hundred yards before overturning fully and barrel rolling on the lower banking on the exit of turn 4 before landing upright. Smith exited under his own power uninjured.

Other racing

On August 8, 2020, Smith made his Stadium Super Trucks debut at Road America, just one day after winning the NASCAR Truck Series race at Michigan. The event also featured two-time SST champion Creed. Smith finished fifth in the first race and sixth in the second.

Smith and his teammate, Harrison Burton, secured victory at the 2023 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge event held at Daytona International Speedway.[citation needed]

Personal life

Smith was born in Huntington Beach, California. He is the son of Mike Smith, who runs the professional off-road racing team, Herbst-Smith Fabrication. Trucks built by Hersbt-Smith have won the Baja 1000 over 10 times. Smith is married to McCall Gaulding, the younger sister of fellow race car driver Gray Gaulding.[citation needed]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold– Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics– Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. *– Most laps led.)

Cup Series

Daytona 500

Xfinity Series

Craftsman Truck Series

* Season still in progress 1 Ineligible for series points

ARCA Menards Series

(key) (Bold– Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics– Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. *– Most laps led.)

K&N Pro Series East

ARCA Menards Series West

Stadium Super Trucks

(key) (Bold– Pole position. Italics– Fastest qualifier. *– Most laps led.)

2 Standings were not recorded by the series for the 2020 season

CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour

(key) (Bold– Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics– Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. *– Most laps led. **– All laps led.)

CARS Super Late Model Tour

(key)

External links

• driver statistics at Racing-Reference