What’s Happening?

Zane Smith’s Cup Series future is as cloudy as any right now despite being under contract with Trackhouse, one of the top teams in the Cup Series. With limited space available at Trackhouse, Smith is analyzing all of his options, and his former team, Front Row Motorsports, is open to bringing him back if the circumstances are right. Here is everything we know.

• Zane Smith is struggling in his rookie Cup Series season with Spire Motorsports. He sits 34th in points with only one top-10 finish 20 races into the season. The emergence of SVG in the Xfinity Series further puts Smith’s future with Trackhouse in doubt.
• Front Row Motorsports has one more seat open for 2025. Todd Gilliland is set to return on a multi-year contract, and Noah Gragson signed a multi-year contract to join the team from Stewart-Haas Racing. FRM intends to open a third car, presumably with an SHR charter.
• Fans are watching Smith as closely as any driver in Silly Season. Many were excited to see Smith finally get a Cup Series opportunity this year, but he would have to move elsewhere for 2024.

Smith’s Trackhouse Situation

Multiple factors affect Zane Smith’s future at Trackhouse. First, he signed a multi-year development contract with the team in late 2023. This move made a lot of sense at the time since he would race for one of NASCAR’s top teams at the highest level with good job security. The only downside was that he would have to spend 2024 on loan at Spire Motorsports while Trackhouse figured out how to field an extra car in the future.

As 2024 unfolded, Smith struggled significantly at Spire Motorsports, and one of Trackhouse’s other drivers, Shane Van Gisbergen, emerged. With three road course wins and some solid oval performances, SVG looks Cup-ready. Maybe both could move up to the Cup Series, especially with Trackhouse reportedly interested in purchasing at least one of SHR’s open charters.

Unfortunately, a bombshell report by Jordan Bianchi in the spring threw another wrench into Trackhouse’s plans. NASCAR is reportedly considering limiting race teams to only three charters per team, meaning Trackhouse can only expand one extra car.

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Ross Chastain is not going anywhere, and Daniel Suarez seems likely to re-sign with Trackhouse. That means Trackhouse may have only one seat available, and with the emergence of SVG, Smith will not be guaranteed to get that seat.

Maybe Smith could go on loan to another team from Trackhouse. Kaulig Racing is aligned with Trackhouse, so Smith could go there like SVG did this year, or Trackhouse could find another suitor. However, if Smith can get out of the multi-year contract, a return to Front Row Motorsports could be an option.

A Look at Front Row Motorsports

When asked by the media in the above clip about returning Smith to FRM, team General Manager Jerry Freeze seemed very open to the possibility. This came despite Smith leaving FRM’s Truck Series program last year to join Trackhouse.

We’ve still go really fond feelings for Zane [Smith]. He did a phenomenal job for us for two years with our Truck team. I think a year ago, if we had a third charter, it would have been a no-brainer that Zane Smith would have been driving the third car. I think that’s what Bob [Jenkins] was really wishing for an hoping for last year, but, we didn’t.

Jerry Freeze

Smith seemingly left FRM on good terms, and he had a lot of success there. He won the 2022 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship and six races for the team. He also recorded his first Cup Series top-10 in the 2023 Coca-Cola 600 for FRM.

However, Freeze later added that he’s not sure if Smith has any interest in returning to FRM. This may not be due to hard feelings but primarily to Smith’s multi-year contract with Trackhouse. Is it possible for him to get out of that contract?

It’s been done before. Most recently, 23XI Racing signed Tyler Reddick in 2022, but he was under contract at Richard Childress Racing through 2023, meaning he would not join 23XI until 2024. However, Kurt Busch suffered a concussion, eventually forcing him into retirement, and 23XI bought out the remainder of Reddick’s contract to bring him to 23XI a year early.

This might be an expensive process, but if FRM is interested and Trackhouse doesn’t have a place for Smith, it might work out. From Smith’s perspective, would he rather race full-time for the team he’s under contract with or continue to be on loan to another organization?

Front Row is showing interest, but a lot needs to happen for Smith to move back to FRM in 2025. However, anything can happen.

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