Zane Smith And Trackhouse To Split At The End of the 2024 Season

What’s Happening?

News out of Daytona: Following the end of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, driver of the number 71 Spire Motorsports Chevy, Zane Smith will end his partnership with Trackhouse Racing. Smith, a former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion, was signed by Trackhouse Racing near the end of the 2023 season. Subsequently, he was leased out to Spire Motorsports for the number 71 entry with Trackhouse backing. Per Trackhouse Racing’s official X account, the decision was mutual. Zane Smith is free to explore other opportunities in the NASCAR Cup Series. The Trackhouse/Spire team alliance will continue through the remainder of the 2024 season.

• It has been an up and down year thus far for Zane Smith and his number 71 team. They started the year off the pace but were able to turn it around as the year went on. Earlier in the summer, it was announced that Michael McDowell was signed to take over the number 71 car starting in 2025. This meant that, more than likely, Zane Smith was out at Spire.
• Following that announcement, Smith’s future at Trackhouse was cast in doubt. Ross Chastain is currently signed to a multi-year deal and the team also re-signed Daniel Suarez a couple of weeks prior. A third expansion team has been discussed in the past but with SVG’s promising performance in the Xfinity Series, it was highly unlikely that Smith would move over to Trackhouse in 2025.
• Meanwhile, Smith’s status with Spire, while looking grim, is not yet officially known. While McDowell is slated to take over Smith’s number 71 in 2025, Corey Lajoie’s unexpected exit cracks a door open for Smith.

Around The Garage

Following the announcement, driver Zane Smith posted this statement to his official X profile:

On Your Screen

Our friend, Eric Estepp speculates that Smith was the backup plan in the event that SVG underperformed in his Xfinity Series rookie season. That hasn’t happened, though, and Zane ultimately wound up the odd man out.

The Out of the Groove host also suggested that Smith could go back to Front Row Motorsports in ’25. Hmm…They do have an open seat on the Cup side…and their Truck Series team has underperformed this year.

Conclusion

Only time will tell where Zane Smith will land come 2025. What options do you think are on his table? Where do you think he will ultimately end up? Let us know! And be sure to keep tuning in here at DailyDownforce.com for all the latest news and silly season rumors in the world of NASCAR!