Zane Smith leaving Front Row to drive in the Cup Series in 2024 has left open a very prominent seat in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. There are plenty of drivers who are likely lining up to try to take this seat in 2024, so, who are the major candidates for this truck in 2024?
Brett Moffitt could be out at AM Racing heading into 2024, and he is a former Truck Series Champion. If he wants to get into a ride where he knows he can and will win races, Front Row Motorsports may be the place for him to go.
He won a race for the team at Talladega this year while running a second car. If Ford wants to keep Moffitt in their ecosystem, this may be the place to go. Plus it gives Moffitt a chance to win races.
Matt DiBenedetto is not only out of a ride for 2024, but he is also out of a ride for the final three races of 2023. Front Row will not give him a ride in these final races with Zane Smith still in the Championship hunt, but DiBenedetto can put his full focus on where he will race in 2024. Front Row would be an interesting place for him to land because it is competitive, and it has a direct line to the Cup Series.
However, would it be mutually beneficial for Front Row and Ford? Ford is sorely lacking young driver talent, and signing on a veteran like DiBenedetto does not exactly fix that problem. It may not fit exactly what Ford could be looking for in their next driver, but, if the opportunity comes across DiBenedetto’s doorstep, he would likely consider it.
Noah Gragson is now looking to rebuild his career after his suspension and subsequent release from Legacy Motor Club. He may have to look to the Craftsman Truck Series for his next opportunity, and Front Row is by far the best team available. Gragson has been a Chevrolet driver for most of his career, but Ford may be intrigued to sign him.
He is a young driver with potential, and Ford is in need of young driver talent. It also gives Gragson a direct line upwards to the Cup Series should that opportunity open up in the future. At some point, someone will give Gragson a chance, and a championship-contending Truck Series team may be the next place for Gragson.
Frankie Muniz is an interesting case. He is a driver with some funding, and he has performed reasonably well in the ARCA Menards Series given his equipment. He is a Ford driver, which makes him at least somewhat of a candidate for the Front Row Motorsports ride.
The question is whether or not he brings enough funding, and is he really the guy Ford wants to try to build around? Keep in mind that Muniz is turning 38 years old in December, so how long will he realistically be able to race? It’s possible that Ford does not want Muniz to take a ride like this when they need young drivers as badly as they do.
Front Row Motorsports is the newest seat that is open in the Truck Series, and whoever gets the seat will get a big-time opportunity. Who else is available to potentially drive the #38 truck next season?
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series regular Austin Hill is officially slated to run part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series throughout 2026 with Richard Childress Racing.
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This year marks the second season of NASCAR’s groundbreaking 2025 media rights deal, and fans are curious to see just how year two will stack up with year one. This article will walk you through the 2026 season race by race, comparing viewership week by week to NASCAR’s 2025 season.
All Races (4 Total in 2026): Will include all points races, exhibition races, and qualifying races as they occur.
Points Races (3 Total in 2026): Will only include the season’s 36 points-paying races week-to-week as they occur.
Cable Races to Date (1 Total in 2025): Races on FS1, TNT, and USA | Including all points races, exhibition races, and qualifying races as they occur.
Network Races to Date (3 Total in 2026): Races on FOX and NBC | Including all points races, exhibition races, and qualifying races as they occur.
Exhibition/Qualifying Races (2 Total in 2026): This is only applicable to the Clash, Daytona Duels, and the All-Star Race as they happen.
*The 2025 Daytona 500 was pushed back several hours due to rain.
**The 2026 Daytona 500 was pushed up one hour to avoid inclement weather.
**2026 Clash was pushed from Sunday to Wednesday due to snow, and moved to FS2 due to overrunning time on FOX.
This tracker will be updated throughout the season. Make sure to check back in for the latest!
Joe Gibbs Racing has added to its lawsuit filed against former Crew Chief and Competition Director Chris Gabehart, filing to add Spire as a co-defendant, and to prevent Gabehart from continuing his work at Spire.
JGR initiated this lawsuit on February 19, alleging Gabehart, a long-time Crew Chief, most recently for Denny Hamlin, and the team’s now former Competition Director, “embarked on a brazen scheme to steal JGR’s most sensitive information and use it for the benefit of a direct competitor in NASCAR.”
That direct competitor, Spire Motorsports, which currently employs Gabehart as their Chief Motorsports Officer, is now a co-defendant in this lawsuit, via an amended complaint filed Tuesday.
Per the latest filing from JGR, which employed Gabehart as Competition Director last season, is asking the court for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction with seven key requests.
Key to these requests is that Gabehardt cease providing Spire with “services for Spire similar to those he provided to JGR” for 18 months following his February 9 formal termination from JGR.
JGR also requested that Spire stop accepting Gabehart’s work as per the noncompete obligation of his termination.
The filing also has several requests regarding the team information Gabehart allegedly retained from JGR.
These include Gabehart returning this information alongside the devices that store this information and “cease and desist from retaining, transferring, using or copying any Confidential Information and Trade Secrets.”
From JGR’s filing:
c. Gabehart immediately cease and desist from retaining, transferring, using or copying any Confidential Information and Trade Secrets
d. Gabehart return any Confidential Information and Trade Secrets in his possession to JGR;
e. Gabehart transfer to the custody of JGR’s counsel any device used to store the Confidential Information and Trade Secrets and, through an agreed upon Court ordered process, allow the forensic preservation and review of these devices for identification of Confidential Information and Trade Secrets, the return of any identified Confidential Information and Trade Secrets to JGR, and the removal of any identified Confidential Information and Trade Secrets from the devices;
f. Gabehart cease and desist from using or disclosing JGR’s Confidential Information and Trade Secrets to third parties;
As of press time, Gabehart has commented on the lawsuit in a post to X on February 20, where he claimed a third-party investigator “examined my laptop, cell phone and personal Google Drive and found no evidence to support the baseless allegations in JGR’s lawsuit.”
What’s Happening? Joe Gibbs Racing has filed a lawsuit against former competition director Chris Gabehart, alleging he took confidential team information…
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