Zane M. Smith (born June 9, 1999) is an American professional
stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...
driver. He competes full-time in the
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of thr ...
, driving the No. 38
Ford F-150
The Ford F-Series is a series of light-duty trucks marketed and manufactured by Ford since the 1948 model year. Slotted above the Ford Ranger in the Ford truck model range, the F-Series is marketed as a range of full-sized pickup trucks. ...
for
Front Row Motorsports
Front Row Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The team began running part-time in 2004 as Means-Jenkins Motorsports under a partners ...
. He is the
2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion.
Smith previously drove full-time in the Truck Series for
GMS Racing
Petty GMS Motorsports, also known as GMS Racing in the Craftsman Truck Series, is an American professional stock car racing team formed by Richard Petty and Maurice J. Gallagher Jr. and operated by GMS Racing. In the NASCAR Cup Series they field t ...
, finishing second in the championship in 2020 and 2021. He also placed runner-up in the 2018
ARCA Racing Series
The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three national ...
standings for
MDM Motorsports
MDM Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing team that most recently competed in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, and the ARCA Racing Series. The team also competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck ...
. Part-time stints have come in the
NASCAR Xfinity Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
for
JR Motorsports
JR Motorsports (pronounced "Junior Motorsports") is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series, CARS Tour, and occasionally in the NASCAR Advance Auto Par ...
and
Stadium Super Trucks
The Stadium Super Trucks (SST), formerly known as Speed Energy Formula Off-Road, is an American short course off-road racing series created by off-road racer and former IndyCar and NASCAR driver Robby Gordon in 2013. Sanctioned by the United State ...
.
Racing career
Early career
First racing
BMX, Smith moved to
go-kart
A go-kart, also written as go-cart (often referred to as simply a kart), is a type of sports car, close wheeled car, open-wheel car or quadracycle. Go-karts come in all shapes and forms, from non-motorised models to high-performance Kart rac ...
racing in 2004 and won championships in five consecutive years before moving up to
legends car racing
Legends car racing is a style of auto racing designed primarily to promote exciting racing and to keep costs down. The race car bodyshells are 5/8-scale replicas of American automobiles from the 1930s and 1940s, powered by Yamaha XJ1250, FJ1200 ( ...
.
He raced
super late model
A late model car is a car which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model. (An early model car or classic car is a car old enough to be of historical interest; there is no usual intermediate term.)
The precise definition ...
s in 2015, recording victories in the
World Series of Asphalt
New Smyrna Speedway is a 1/2-mile asphalt oval racetrack located near New Smyrna Beach, Florida, that races the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series every Saturday night. It also has a smaller track, known as "Little New Smyrna Speedway" in ...
,
Pro All Stars Series
The Pro All Stars Series is a stock car racing governing body active in the United States of America and Canada. The series started in 2001 and now sanctions various series including North, South, and National Super Late Model tours and a New Eng ...
and the
CARS Tour
The CARS Solid Rock Carriers Tour (formerly known as the USARacing Pro Cup Series, USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series, CARS Pro Cup Series, Rev-Oil Pro Cup Series, CARS X1-R Pro Cup Series) is a stock car auto racing series in the United States. It is s ...
, as well as garnering a runner-up finish in the
Snowball Derby
The Snowball Derby presented by Bayou Fox Hooters is a 300-lap super late model stock car race held annually at the Five Flags Speedway, a half-mile paved oval track in Pensacola, Florida, United States. The race has been contested every year s ...
.
ARCA
On the heels of his successes racing late models, Smith tested an
ARCA Racing Series
The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three national ...
car with
Mason Mitchell Motorsports
Mason Mitchell Motorsports (MMM) was an American stock car racing team that competed in the ARCA Racing Series from 2014 to 2018. The team was founded in 2013 by Mason Mitchell, and veteran NASCAR crew chief Brad Parrott, and they last fielded ...
at
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NA ...
in January 2016. A
wake skating injury limited Smith's racing slate in early 2016, but he later returned for two ARCA races with
Venturini Motorsports
Venturini Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East, and ARCA Menards Series West. Founded in 1982 by Bill Venturini Sr., Venturini Motorsports is t ...
.
In late summer 2016, Smith left his SLM team in hopes of finding more ARCA experience in 2017.
In late 2016, Smith signed with Venturini to drive all but two races of the
2017 ARCA Racing Series
The 2017 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards was the 65th season of the ARCA Racing Series. The season began on February 18 with the Lucas Oil 200 Driven by General Tire and ended on October 20 with the Kansas 150. Austin Theriault, drivin ...
schedule in the organization's No. 55 entry.
Noah Gragson
Noah Quinn Gragson (born July 15, 1998) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Petty GMS Motorsports. He previously drove full-time in the NA ...
was slated to fill the other two races, which Smith couldn't race due to age restrictions. Smith, going for Rookie of the Year honors, joined the same crew that led
Dalton Sargeant
Daniel Dalton Sargeant (born March 25, 1998) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 25 Chevrolet Silverado for GMS Racing. He was the 2016 ARCA Racing ...
to the award the previous year. He also drove a partial schedule in the
NASCAR K&N Pro Series East
The ARCA Menards Series East (formerly Busch East Series, Busch North Series, Camping World East Series, and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East) is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and ...
, debuting in the series for Calabrese Motorsports at the beginning of 2017. He also replaced
Ryan Partridge
Ryan Partridge (born May 17, 1988) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, driving the No. 9 Ford Fusion for Sunrise Ford Racing. He was the Whelen All-American Series champion in ...
for the season opener of the K&N West season after Partridge could not obtain a license in time. Smith was named to the 2017 NASCAR Next class in April 2017. The team and driver agreed to part ways in the middle of August, after eight top-tens in eleven races. Smith later signed on with
MDM Motorsports
MDM Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing team that most recently competed in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, and the ARCA Racing Series. The team also competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck ...
for three races towards the end of the season. The races yielded two poles and as many runner-up finishes.
![41 Zane Smith car 2018 ARCA Madison](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/41_Zane_Smith_car_2018_ARCA_Madison.jpg)
On November 6, 2017, Smith re-signed with MDM for the
2018 season to run full-time in their No. 41 Toyota.
He scored his first win in the second race of the season, outlasting teammate
Sheldon Creed
Sheldon M. Creed (born September 30, 1997) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 2 Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing. He is a member of Drivers Edge Dev ...
and bested his three previous runner-up finishes. Two races later, Smith beat
Joe Graf Jr.
Joseph A. Graf Jr. (born July 12, 1998) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the Nos. 07 and 08 Ford Mustangs for SS-Green Light Racing, the No. 38 Mustang for RSS ...
at
Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega Superspeedway, nicknamed “'Dega”, and formerly named Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS) from 1969 to 1989, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base ...
in ARCA's closest-ever finish, where the sanctioning body had to use photos to determine who won the race because timing systems scored the margin of victory at .00 seconds. In the next race, Smith went three-wide with
Chandler Smith
Chandler Smith Sr. (born June 26, 2002) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing. He was a member of Toyota Racing Development ...
(no relation) and lapped car Mike Basham to take the lead after the midway point of the race and later passed MDM teammate
Chase Purdy
Chase R. Purdy (born November 11, 1999) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 4 Chevrolet Silverado for Kyle Busch Motorsports.
He has competed for MDM Mot ...
for the win with less than ten laps to go. Smith secured the victory with the help of 2017 ARCA champion
Austin Theriault
Austin L. Theriault (born January 23, 1994) is an American professional stock car racing driver and politician, who currently works in driver development. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 52 for Rick Ware Racing ...
, who was atop the spotters' box for the win at
Toledo Speedway
Toledo Speedway is a half-mile paved oval racetrack located in Toledo, Ohio, United States. It is owned jointly by Roy Mott and ARCA President Ron Drager. It is operated by ARCA and run as the sister track to Flat Rock Speedway in Flat Rock, M ...
. Also in May 2018, it was announced that Smith for a second straight year returned to the NASCAR Next program. At a race at
Salem Speedway
Salem Speedway is a long paved oval racetrack in Washington Township, Washington County, near Salem, Indiana, United States, approximately south of Indianapolis. The track has 33° degrees of banking in the corners. Major auto racing series ...
late in the season, Smith and
Michael Self
Michael Self (born November 1, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed full-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 25 Toyota Camry for Venturini Motorsports. He was a former development driver for R ...
got together multiple times, eventually causing Smith's radiator to quit working in the middle of the race. Smith returned to the track with a premeditated intention of payback, slowing down until Self passed and burying him in the outside wall. Smith later bragged about the incident in a
MAVTV interview. ARCA fined him $5,000 and 100 points, a punishment many in the industry considered too lenient.
Xfinity Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
driver
Scott Heckert
Scott Heckert (born November 21, 1993) is an American professional racing driver. He previously drove full-time in NASCAR for three years in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East; in the last of those years, 2015, he finished second in the point standing ...
worried about drivers' health if purposeful blunt-force collisions are allowed. At the end of the season, Smith was second in point standings, despite the penalty. He later said that he wasn't set on a full-time schedule at the beginning of the year, but ran well enough to sell sponsorship for the remainder of the schedule.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
In June 2018, Smith announced his
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...
debut with
DGR-Crosley
TRICON Garage, formally known as David Gilliland Racing and Team DGR, is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the ARCA Menards Series, the ARCA Menards Series East, the ARCA Menards S ...
at
Gateway Motorsports Park
World Wide Technology Raceway (formerly Gateway International Raceway and Gateway Motorsports Park) is a motorsport racing facility in Madison, Illinois, just east of St. Louis, Missouri, United States, close to the Gateway Arch. It features a ...
. The deal came together the week of the race, as Smith had to rush to get all of his licenses prepared in time.
Smith joined
GMS Racing
Petty GMS Motorsports, also known as GMS Racing in the Craftsman Truck Series, is an American professional stock car racing team formed by Richard Petty and Maurice J. Gallagher Jr. and operated by GMS Racing. In the NASCAR Cup Series they field t ...
for the full
2020 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series
The 2020 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series was the 26th season of the third highest stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in North America. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the NextEra Energy 250 on Febr ...
season. On August 7, he won his first career Truck Series race at
Michigan International Speedway
Michigan International Speedway (MIS) is a moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than approximately south of the village of Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track is ...
when he passed leader
Christian Eckes
Christian D. Eckes (pronounced "eck-iss"; born November 10, 2000) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 19 Chevrolet Silverado for McAnally-Hilgemann Raci ...
on the final lap in overtime. He scored his second win two weeks later at
Dover International Speedway
Dover Motor Speedway (formerly Dover Downs International Speedway and later Dover International Speedway) is a race track in Dover, Delaware. The track has hosted at least one NASCAR Cup Series race each year since 1969, including two per yea ...
after holding off
Matt Crafton
Matthew Justin Crafton (born June 11, 1976) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He is a three-time champion of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (2013, 2014, 2019), in which he competes full-time, driving the No. 88 Ford F-150 ...
and
Brett Moffitt
Brett B. Moffitt (born August 7, 1992) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 25 Ford Mustang for AM Racing.
He won Rookie of the Year Honors in 2015 in the NASCAR ...
on the final restart. Smith reached the final round as the only non-playoff race winner of the four remaining championship drivers, where he finished runner-up in the season finale at
Phoenix Raceway
Phoenix Raceway is a 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona, near Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually including the final championship race since 2020. P ...
and the standings to GMS teammate
Sheldon Creed
Sheldon M. Creed (born September 30, 1997) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 2 Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing. He is a member of Drivers Edge Dev ...
. In addition to
NASCAR Rookie of the Year
The NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award is presented to the first-year driver that has the best season in a NASCAR season. Each of NASCAR's national and regional touring series selects a RotY winner each year.
History of the Award
The Rookie of the Y ...
honors, he was voted the Truck Series'
Most Popular Driver.
Smith returned to GMS Racing in 2021. On October 30, he won his third career NASCAR Truck Series race after
Stewart Friesen spun
Todd Gilliland
Todd J. Gilliland (born May 15, 2000) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 38 Ford Mustang for Front Row Motorsports. He is the son of NASCAR driver and team owner D ...
in front of the field, the win locked Smith into the Championship race at Phoenix. In the season finale at Phoenix, Zane was passed with 8 laps to go and finished fifth in the race and second in points to eventual champion
Ben Rhodes.
![Zane Smith 38 Truck Sonoma 2022](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Zane_Smith_38_Truck_Sonoma_2022.jpg)
On November 30, 2021, Smith was announced as the driver of the
Front Row Motorsports
Front Row Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The team began running part-time in 2004 as Means-Jenkins Motorsports under a partners ...
No. 38 truck in 2022. In the
2022 season, Smith scored his fourth career NASCAR Truck Series win in the season opener at Daytona after holding off Ben Rhodes in overtime after nearly winning in regulation. Smith finished in second place at Las Vegas, but was disqualified after a post-race inspection found a lug nut violation. Smith finished fifth the next race at Atlanta. Zane got his second win of the season at
Circuit of the Americas
Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a Grade 1 FIA-specification motor racing track and facilities located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Austin, Texas, in the United States. The facility is home to the Formula One United States Grand ...
after Alex Bowman collided with front runners Stewart Friesen and Kyle Busch, Smith also won both stages. Following the
2022 CRC Brakleen 150 at
Pocono Raceway
Pocono Raceway (formerly Pocono International Raceway), also known as ''The Tricky Triangle'', is a superspeedway located in the Pocono Mountains in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. It is the site of three NASCAR national series races and an ARCA M ...
, Smith clinched the regular season championship. On November 4, Smith claimed his first Truck Series championship after winning at
Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
. It was also Front Row Motorsports' first NASCAR championship.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
![Zane smith (47819123061)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Zane_smith_%2847819123061%29.jpg)
On December 18, 2018, it was announced that Smith would drive the No. 9
JR Motorsports
JR Motorsports (pronounced "Junior Motorsports") is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series, CARS Tour, and occasionally in the NASCAR Advance Auto Par ...
entry in the
Xfinity Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
for eight races in 2019, most coming at short tracks. The deal came after an agreement for a full Truck Series season with
GMS Racing
Petty GMS Motorsports, also known as GMS Racing in the Craftsman Truck Series, is an American professional stock car racing team formed by Richard Petty and Maurice J. Gallagher Jr. and operated by GMS Racing. In the NASCAR Cup Series they field t ...
did not materialize.
On January 25, 2019, it was revealed that Smith would switch over to the No. 8 entry as
Noah Gragson
Noah Quinn Gragson (born July 15, 1998) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Petty GMS Motorsports. He previously drove full-time in the NA ...
would take over the No. 9 entry.
In May 2021, Smith returned to the Xfinity Series as a substitute driver for
Justin Haley, who was unavailable due to
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
protocols, in the No. 11 of
Kaulig Racing
Kaulig Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is owned by Matt Kaulig, an owner of team sponsor LeafFilter. Kaulig Racing fields two Cup Series Chevrolet ...
at Dover.
NASCAR Cup Series
On June 2, 2022,
RFK Racing driver
Chris Buescher
Christopher William Buescher (born October 29, 1992) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 17 Ford Mustang for RFK Racing. He is the 2012 ARCA Racing Series and 2015 ...
tested positive for COVID-19 and missed the Cup Series race at
Gateway. Smith was announced as the driver to replace Buescher. It was his first race in the Cup Series. He would finish on the lead lap in 17th after starting 32nd.
Other racing
On August 8, 2020, Smith made his
Stadium Super Trucks
The Stadium Super Trucks (SST), formerly known as Speed Energy Formula Off-Road, is an American short course off-road racing series created by off-road racer and former IndyCar and NASCAR driver Robby Gordon in 2013. Sanctioned by the United State ...
debut at
Road America
Road America is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, United States on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Champ ...
, a day after he won the NASCAR Truck Series race at Michigan; Creed, a two-time SST champion, also competed. Smith finished fifth and sixth in the day's two races.
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Cup Series
Xfinity Series
Craftsman Truck Series
K&N Pro Series East
ARCA Menards Series
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
ARCA Menards Series West
Stadium Super Trucks
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (
Bold – Pole position. ''Italics'' – Fastest qualifier. * – Most laps led.)
Season still in progress
Ineligible for series points
Standings were not recorded by the series for the 2020 season
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Zane
Living people
1999 births
Racing drivers from California
NASCAR drivers
ARCA Menards Series drivers
Stadium Super Trucks drivers
Sportspeople from Huntington Beach, California
NASCAR Truck Series regular season champions
JR Motorsports drivers
RFK Racing drivers
NASCAR Truck Series champions