Top Dog: Zane Smith
You’d be hard pressed to find someone familiar with Spire Motorsports who didn’t agree that 2024 has been one of its wildest seasons yet.
Still relatively young, the 2018-founded team has emerged in several storylines throughout the year among its trio of drivers: veteran Corey LaJoie and rookies Carson Hocevar and Zane Smith.
The NASCAR Cup Series’ annual visit to Michigan International Speedway (Aug. 19) was no different.
While it has been Hocevar either capturing the hearts of fans or drawing the ire of his competitors with his aggressive style, Smith emerged as the team’s top finisher in the FireKeepers Casino 400 after finishing seventh.
With rain halting the race on Sunday after stage one was completed, the remainder of the event was pushed to Monday (Aug. 19). Smith was given time to reset after finishing the first stage in 32nd.
By the time stage two ended, Smith had driven back into the top 20, entering the final stage in 19th. A pair of wild accidents (including one involving one of Smith’s teammates) shuffled the field up, yet Smith held strong inside the top 15.
A late caution with six laps to go saw the Huntington Beach, Calif. native sitting just outside the top 10 in 12th. Two attempts at overtime opened the door for Smith to seize the moment and capture the top-10 result.
Smith’s well-documented slump to start the season has given way to an uptick in speed lately from the No. 71, sparked by a runner-up finish at Nashville Superspeedway. In four of the last six races, Smith has finished 17th or better and has grabbed at least 20 points, something he only accomplished twice in the first 18 races.
With questions still surrounding Smith’s fate for the 2025 season and beyond, this is a chance for him to build off the momentum and open some team owners’ eyes in the process.
How Does It Compare?
Up against the past five races in the rolling hills of Michigan, Smith’s finish bested them all. He topped the past two results from hometown driver Erik Jones, who had finishes of 10th and eighth in the past two events at MIS. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. led the underdog effort with a 12th-place showing in 2021, and a 2020 doubleheader produced top dogs of Bubba Wallace (ninth) and Ryan Preece (16th).
Notable Underdog Runs
While a few underdogs had runs to dive into, let’s go to the other extreme for Spire. And by extreme, this was X Games-like material. Unfortunately, that isn’t optimal for a Cup car.
LaJoie matched the speed of his teammates and appeared to be on track to challenge for a top-15 result, recording stage finishes of 17th and 18th. However, the wind literally blew in the wrong direction for LaJoie, bringing his day to a bizarre, screeching halt.
The 32-year-old got a head of steam down the backstretch to pass Noah Gragson. As he maneuvered to Gragson’s inside, it appeared the two made contact, causing LaJoie’s car to spin and flip in the air like a paper airplane. The car landed upside down, slid down the backstretch apron and took another roll in the grass before coming to a rest.
Fortunately, LaJoie was uninjured, but it added to a wild week that also featured Kyle Sieg having a similar flip in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race. Regardless, the ease of the wind to flip LaJoie’s car is concerning and unacceptable.
In-between Smith’s seventh-place showing and LaJoie’s flip was Hocevar giving Spire a pair of top-10 finishers in 10th. The Portage, Mich. native made his debut at his home track, and much like he has all season, he made the hometown crowd proud.
Hocevar commenced Monday’s restart at the rear of the field after pitting while pit road was closed. It didn’t take long for him to work his way forward, running inside the top 15 for much of the race.
When the caution flew on lap 195, Hocevar was running ninth. Despite the nature of restarts jeopardizing his top-10 potential, Hocevar cashed in and scored his second consecutive top 10 since the Olympic break. It is the first time this season Spire has landed two cars inside the top 10. Additionally, Hocevar’s four top 10s have all come on non-superspeedways, an impressive stat from a future star.
Off the heels of a promising finish gone by the wayside at Richmond Raceway, Stenhouse bounced back for a 13th-place finish.
Stenhouse spent most of the race inside the top 20, running inside the top 15 for several laps at times as well. Overall, he had a quiet race and earned his seventh top 15 of the year.
With increased focus on he and his team from NBC Sports’ embedded coverage, Harrison Burton turned in a solid performance in 14th. The Wood Brothers Racing driver also faces a lot of uncertainty moving forward as a free agent, but days like Michigan are more of what he needs. It was Burton’s best finish at Michigan, and it’s his first top 15 since New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Jones joined Hocevar and Brad Keselowski as drivers to return to their home track, and the Byron, Mich. native racked up a top 20 in 16th. In what has been a disappointing season for Legacy Motor Club in general, there was much to be optimistic about this time.
Jones restarted 32nd when the race resumed after stopping while the pits were closed. However, he blazed his way up to eighth by the end of stage two, collecting three stage points.
The final stage saw Jones make an awe-inspiring four-wide pass, and it seemed Jones was on his way to earning his first top 10 since the Daytona 500.
Unfortunately, the late restarts did not shake out in his favor and he fell outside the top 15 when the checkered flag flew. Still, there were some positives, and the 28-year-old heads back to Daytona International Speedway, the site of his first career win.
What They’re Saying
Smith (seventh) & Hocevar (10th):
Burton (14th):
LaJoie (32nd):
Todd Gilliland (36th after lap 115) wreck):
Who’s Really the Top Dog?
In our first medal count since the Olympic break, the fight for gold continues to heat up, as Hocevar’s top dog standing at Richmond Raceway knotted him up with Jones and Stenhouse. Gilliland is running away with the silver on the year, while the battle for bronze is even tighter than gold. Gilliland leads the overall medal count with 12, while Stenhouse and Hocevar are right on his tail with 10 and nine.
Gold: Stenhouse Jr. (4x), Erik Jones (4x), Hocevar (4x), Nemechek (2x), Allmendinger (2x), Gilliland (2x), Smith (2x), LaJoie, Hemric, Haley, Joey Hand
Silver: Gilliland (7x), Haley (2x), Allmendinger (2x), Hemric (2x), Nemechek (2x), Stenhouse Jr. (2x), Hocevar (2x), Burton, Smith, Ty Dillon, Anthony Alfredo, LaJoie
Bronze: Stenhouse (4x), Nemechek (3x), LaJoie (3x), Gilliland (3x), Hocevar (3x), Jones (2x), Kaz Grala, Shane van Gisbergen, Haley, Allmendinger, Hemric, Smith
Small Team Scheme of the Week
Mobil 1 has adorned the hood of several drivers this year across all three NASCAR national series, including Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick.
This week, they were on Nemechek’s No. 42, and this one may be the best Mobil scheme of them all. With the iconic Pegasus logo on the door and a gradient on the side, this car is definitely a scheme of the year nominee.
About the author
Luken Glover joined the Frontstretch team in 2020 as a contributor, furthering a love for racing that traces back to his earliest memories. Glover inherited his passion for racing from his grandfather, who used to help former NASCAR team owner Junie Donlavey in his Richmond, Va. garage. A 2023 graduate from the University of the Cumberlands, Glover is the author of "The Underdog House," contributes to commentary pieces, and does occasional at-track reporting. Additionally, Glover enjoys working in ministry, coaching basketball, playing sports, and karting.
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