Zane Smith ponders about the next two Round of 8 Playoff races starting off with Talladega. (Photo: Kyle Ritchie | The Podium Finish)
LINCOLN, Ala. — As the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season winds down, Zane Smith hopes to defend his championship in grand fashion.
After winning at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, site of the fourth round of the season, Smith has flirted with potential wins. However, the 24-year-old Huntington Beach, California native has been stymied at times but not for a lack of effort.
In the series’ most recent race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Smith finished fifth in Stage 1 and second in Stage 2, netting 15 stage points. Then again, he finished 24th, ranking fifth in the Playoffs standings heading into Talladega Superspeedway.
Following the Thursday night race at Bristol, Smith was frustrated by the lack of quality passing opportunities.
“It’s really a cool racetrack, but a terrible race,” Smith said. “It’s just wherever you are is where you are. They said I was pitted outside my box by a little bit and I had to start at the tail end.
“I mean, we definitely had a rough night. You saw it, wherever you were gonna restart is where you’re gonna run. My truck was terrible in the second stage, but I had clean air. You just can’t pass. It just sucks.”
As it stands, Smith needs better results for a chance to pursue his second Truck Series title at Phoenix Raceway. Likewise, he hopes for a better result at Talladega considering his finishes of 33rd on two occasions and 17th in last year’s race.
For starters, Zane Smith hopes Talladega treats him and his No. 38 team kindly. (Photo: Kyle Ritchie | The Podium Finish)
“I’m not trying to be a negative Nellie, but it’s just an odd round for the final four,” Smith said. “This is exactly how I raced last year and then Talladega to get in the final four is a little odd, so who knows on that one.”
Typically, the Love’s RV Stop 250 at Talladega is a wild race from start to finish. Madness ensues toward the front of the field with a shocking winner prevailing at the 2.66-mile superspeedway with victors like Matt DiBenedetto, Tate Fogleman, Raphael Lessard, Spencer Boyd, Timothy Peters and Parker Kligerman in the past six years.
With Smith winding down his Truck Series career, he would love nothing more than to score another win for his No. 38 Speedco/Peak Ford F-150 team. Smith’s Front Row Motorsports team, with crew chief Chris Lawson, have been a consistent frontrunner since aligning at the start of last season.
More importantly, Smith has never missed a Championship 4 since going full-time Truck Series racing in 2020. Prior to winning the championship last year, Smith ranked runner-up in 2020 and 2021.
There will not be a lot of on track time prior to Saturday’s 94-lap race with qualifying being the only time that drivers take to the track. Otherwise, the focus falls on the teams to prepare fast trucks that handle well at this 54-year-old Yellowhammer State venue.
Nevertheless, Smith believes in his team but understands that superspeedway racing offers variability and unpredictability. If Smith and Lawson can capture some of their Daytona magic, it might bode well come Saturday afternoon.
“We’ve obviously won on superspeedways with FRM, but it’s anyone’s battle,” he said. “And then I feel like the only real place that’s a true tell is Homestead, so hopefully we’ll run well there.”
