Top Dog: Zane Smith
A day before his 26th birthday, Zane Smith led the way for NASCAR’s underdogs with a seventh-place finish in Sunday’s (June 8) FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
On a day where both of his teammates finished 27th or worse, Smith carried the torch for Front Row Motorsports, notching his second top-10 of 2025.
After qualifying 10th, Smith stayed up front in stage one. While he was unable to grab any stage points, he ended the stage in 12th. However, the No. 38 Ford faltered slightly in stage two, as Smith ended the second stage of the race in 18th.
A two-tire call in stage three — which ironically, came after teammate Todd Gilliland crashed — briefly got Smith to the race lead, but more importantly, it got him crucial track position that he wouldn’t surrender for the remainder of the race. As multiple front-runners ran out of fuel and fell back, Smith kept pace, saving enough fuel to finish seventh.
“Fast day for us, car was really good,” Smith said after the race. “Just proud of everyone at FRM.”
The top-10 run vaults Smith to 22nd in the Cup Series standings, only 37 points out of a provisional playoff spot.
Notable Underdog Runs
For the second time in three weeks, the final result doesn’t show how quick Carson Hocevar was. The Portage, Mich., native finished 29th after a flat tire with 19 laps to go forced him to pit road, but the second-year driver led 32 laps and once again proved that he can compete with the top dogs of the Cup Series. Hocevar, who was once 30th in the standings this season, is being talked about less as an underdog as he continues to string together solid runs.
Byron, Mich., native Erik Jones continued to shine a light on Legacy Motor Club’s upward trajectory on Sunday with an 11th-place run. Jones started in 22nd, but he incrementally made his way through the pack, finishing 16th in stage one and 10th in stage two. He brought home an 11th-place finish at race’s end and is now 21st in the standings, just 36 points below the cut line.
A pair of road course ringers in AJ Allmendinger and Shane van Gisbergen also had top-20 runs on Sunday. Allmendinger (17th) had a quiet afternoon, staying in the top-20 with no notable issues. Van Gisbergen, on the other hand, started 26th and had to fight his way back into the top-20 after a slow pit stop. The improvement on ovals for van Gisbergen has been a good sign after the Auckland, New Zealand, native struggled to find any semblance of speed on them early in the season.
Underdog Scheme of the Week
Hocevar may not have gotten the finish he wanted, but he at least drove a sharp-looking car in front of his hometown fans.
Everyone loves 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝.
— Spire Motorsports (@SpireMotorsport) June 3, 2025
We're celebrating @zeigler_auto's 50th anniversary with this new look for @CarsonHocevar this weekend. pic.twitter.com/2ziV5gZEtc
The gold scheme commemorating Zeigler’s 50th anniversary popped, and while it didn’t end up in victory lane, it was a winning paint job in every other aspect.
A member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Samuel also covers NASCAR for Yardbarker, Field Level Media, and Heavy Sports. He will attend the University of Arkansas in the fall of 2025.