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Zane Smith and Trackhouse Racing have cut ties not even one year into what was a long-term contract. With Smith back on the market, could the driver return to the place that gave him his first big break?
Zane Smith began his full-time career in NASCAR with GMS Racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. After two back-to-back second-place points finishes, Front Row Motorsports, a former backmarker in the Cup Series, made a huge move to sign Smith before 2022.
This arrangement was fruitful for both the team and the driver. Smith would win the Truck Series Championship in his first season at FRM. The team rewarded his title by giving him a part-time Cup Series schedule in 2023.
FRM valued Smith so much that they removed their first developmental driver, Todd Gilliland, from his chartered No. 38 in six of the seven entries. Everything was great until Smith flipped the script and signed with Trackhouse Racing in September 2023.
For Smith, this offer was a no-brainer. Trackhouse was building its developmental fleet alongside operating a successful Cup Series team.
However, Smith would not race immediately with Trackhouse Racing. Rather, he would run in association with Spire Motorsports. Spire had struggled in the past but was growing and gaining competitiveness.
Smith would join fellow Trucks to Cup rookie Carson Hocevar. However, one rookie would outdo the other.
Smith’s 2024 has differed from what the team and driver had hoped. While Spire teammate Corey Lajoie struggled, Smith was even worse.
Currently second to last in full-time driver points, Smith’s season has been far from the normal rookie struggle common among drivers. Smith finished outside the top 30 eight times out of 18 races in the first half of the season.
Smith’s 24.6 average finish has seen improvement in recent months. However, the tough start to the season has been unrecoverable.
The comparison to teammate Carson Hocevar has yet to help the tough season either. Hocevar is the current Sunoco Rookie of The Year leader, a spot Smith is 151 points out of.
Young Connor Zilisch’s ascension through NASCAR is clogging Trackhouse’s developmental ladder. Fellow Trackhouse development driver Shane Van Gisbergen’s wins in the NASCAR Xfinity Series haven’t helped Smith’s now tight spot at Trackhouse, either.
This came to a head at Daytona when Trackhouse announced that with their one new Cup Series charter, they would go with SVG in-house rather than Smith. However, Smith’s time with the team was already up, as they had announced the mutual termination of his contract one day earlier.
FRM is no longer a backmarker team. With Tier One support from Ford and two competitive drivers, the team is looking to take the next step in development.
That step was acquiring a third charter from the shuttering Stewart-Haas Racing. However, this plan had a hole put in it when cornerstone driver Michael McDowell signed with Spire Motorsports for 2025.
The team responded by signing Noah Gragson, now with an open slot. Is Smith a real possibility?
Many see the likelihood of the two teaming up again in 2025. Even FRM acknowledged this before Smith’s official departure from Trackhouse.
Considerable rumors tie the pair back together, an odd yet common occurrence in recent years in NASCAR. However, Smith has competition, such as Riley Herbst, who has run well at FRM before, this weekend’s winner, Harrison Burton, and even Ryan Preece.
Smith’s benefit is his recent success in No. 71. He has improved considerably in the second half of the season, and if he continues that performance, he could be the perfect fit for a refreshed and youthful FRM.
