AVONDALE, Ariz. – At the end of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, Zane Smith was ride-less. His time in the Spire Motorsports No. 71 Chevrolet ended after the season finale at Phoenix Raceway, and he had no clue what his future held.
The next time he came to Phoenix on Sunday, March 9, he placed his No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford into the top 10, finishing ninth.
“Except qualifying, it was a good weekend for us, man,” Smith told Frontstretch post-race. “We just had a strong car in practice. I liked it straight from the get-go, and then, in the race, really liked it. [I] was able to make hay on restarts and we just got better as the run went on which is obviously a big thing to have here.”
His Phoenix finish is his first top 10 with Front Row Motorsports as a full-time driver and his first in any Cup race since last year’s fall race at Kansas Speedway. He also scored a top 10 in the 2023 Coca-Cola 600 for FRM.
Smith started in 26th and finished 20th in stage one, then hovered around mid-field to come home 18th in stage two. As the final stage progressed, he made his way through the second half of the top 20, particularly on restarts. The timing of the late race cautions meant he was able to re-rack each time, and he stayed in his position after he passed multiple cars.
Also significant is Aaron’s, as the longtime Michael Waltrip sponsor was on the hood of the No. 38 for this race. It’s the first top 10 for Aaron’s as a primary sponsor since Waltrip finished eighth in the 2017 Daytona 500.
“[I’m] so proud of the effort,” Smith said. “[It’s] really cool to have Aaron’s back on board, their first race back, I guess with me… they ran with Todd [Gilliland] earlier in the year, but to get them a good run is awesome.
“Just appreciate everyone at FRM and everyone involved. Last time I was here, it ended pretty bad with the brake failure and hitting the wall down in [turns] 1 and 2 and not knowing what was next for next year. So to have this is some good redemption.”
As Smith drove through the field, he got a feel for the option tire that Goodyear brought to the track. He used it to his advantage, and he is a big fan.
“It was awesome,” Smith added. “I felt Phoenix has always been kind of like either a hit-or-miss race, I feel like [the tire] just created a lot more passing. I’m a big fan of the soft tire. I feel like it’s everything we all kind of want. Yeah, I mean, it’s cool to have options to create passing, and it was fun as well. Just a lot of grip for the first couple laps and falls off and really you just have to manage your stuff. So just a lot of fun today.”
That fun is something Smith had not had for quite a while behind the wheel. Many times in 2024, it seemed like he was racing for his career. He had multiple top 10s last year, highlighted by a runner-up finish at Nashville Superspeedway, but he never had the ride stability he was looking for.
Now, he has it. He’s back with FRM, a place where he had a great deal of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series success, including the 2022 championship. His Phoenix result is much more what he is used to having with this organization. And, he is happy as can be once again.
“Not only is it a confidence booster but, man, It’s been a while since I’ve had fun [behind the wheel] again, and today I had a ton of fun,” he continued. “I’m a big believer [that] when you’re having fun, you’re gonna run good, so hopefully we keep that going.”
Kevin Nix has been with Frontstretch since February 2023. Hailing from Gilbert, Arizona, his dream is to be in the NASCAR media sphere full-time. He is a video assistant, working on the back end to streamline video and audio quality of all at-track interviews. Nix also writes about news every Monday for the site.
Nix graduated with a Master's Degree in Sports Journalism from ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication in Phoenix, Arizona. He also has bachelor's degrees in Communications and Political Science. In his downtime, he likes to read, play video games and take walks in the Arizona weather - when it's not too hot.