This Major 23XI and FRM Lawsuit Storyline is Still Up in The Air
What’s Happening? Both Plaintiffs, Front Row Motorsports and 23XI Racing, in the NASCAR antitrust lawsuit have a major question lingering as…
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Zane Smith has had an up-and-down year. While there haven’t been many ups in recent weeks away from the track, Smith has been improving his stock with great runs in his No. 71 Chevrolet. So, what makes his free agency so interesting?
Zane Smith’s season began in dumps. But, since a second-place run at Nashville Superspeedway, things have turned around for Smith. Through the last ten NASCAR Cup Series races, Smith has the ninth-best average finish, beating out names like Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, and Tyler Reddick.
In fact, with Logano’s win at Las Vegas, many have made jokes about what could have been if Smith, rather than Logano, had qualified for the playoffs.
While all this talk is fun, Smith has one major problem. He is still a free agent. His ride, the No. 71, is being taken over by Michael McDowell next season, and Smith, at 25 years old, is trying to recover from an early firing.
When the former Truck Series Champion jumped to full-time Cup Series Competition this season, things didn’t go according to plan. Throughout the first half of the season, Smith failed to finish inside the top thirty multiple times.
This on-track disappointment did not help the Trackhouse Racing prospect as his competition, SuperCars veteran Shane Van Gisbergen, loomed in the Xfinity Series, winning multiple races.
Smith was not in top Trackhouse equipment but rather Spire Motorsports, a step down from Trackhouse. Spire was a part of Smith’s long-term developmental plan with Trackhouse after jumping ship from Front Row Motorsports at the end of 2023.
With Front Row, Smith won a truck series title and made his first starts in the Cup Series. At one point, FRM even bumped full-time driver Todd Gilliland to an open car in 2023 to ensure Smith’s entry in races.
But by Daytona this fall, Smith received the boot while SVG received a promotion. Most figured that Smith would land on his feet. In fact, his old team, FRM, is looking for a third driver. A rumor spread by Kevin Harvick suggested that Smith was on the outs with Ford following their past investment in him and his abrupt departure. Yet, most rumors pointed to Smith heading back to FRM.
So, if Smith is lighting the world on fire as of late, and FRM is interested, why is he still a free agent?
What’s Happening? Both Plaintiffs, Front Row Motorsports and 23XI Racing, in the NASCAR antitrust lawsuit have a major question lingering as…
On Oct. 2, Front Row Motorsports sued NASCAR alongside 23XI Racing. This followed the two teams’ holding out on signing the new NASCAR Charter Agreement. Holding out raised questions about the future of their charters, including the expansion charter that FRM purchased early this season from Stewart-Haas Racing.
When 23XI and FRM sued NASCAR, the lawsuit revealed that the new charter still did not belong to FRM. Per page 12 of the lawsuit:
“In May 2024, Front Row purchased a third charter from Stewart-Haas Racing, but the transaction is in escrow and requires approval from NASCAR. In the interim, Stewart-Haas Racing, LLC signed NASCAR’s 2025 Charter Agreement.”
This becomes all the more crucial as the two teams have filed a preliminary injunction to compete as chartered teams in 2025. However, there is little to say as to whether they will gain their new charters even if their injunction is approved.
If FRM only has two charters, it has a full lineup, with Todd Gilliand in the No. 38 and Noah Gragson in the No. 34. If they don’t get their injunction, NASCAR will pull their charters.
Sadly for Smith, if FRM is his ideal landing place and the team equally wants him, it is completely out of his hands. Either way, his recent performance will be enough to land him a ride somewhere. Unfortunately, it may not be in the Cup Series.
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