HAMPTON, Ga.: With a solid 13th-place finish in the books in his second Daytona 500, NASCAR Cup Series rookie Zane Smith is content with the start of his season as the third Spire Motorsports driver this season.
Smith started 14th in the postponed Great American Race, which finally saw the green flag on Monday afternoon after Mother Nature soaked the 2.5-mile speedway for nearly 36 hours.
The Spire Motorsports driver, under contract with Justin Marks’ Trackhouse Racing, raced smartly during the 500-lap race and avoided the late race chaos, which included a more than 20-car accident in the waning laps of the race.
For the second consecutive Daytona 50, Smith finished 13th. Last February, Smith also finished 13th after starting 17th in a third car for Front Row Motorsports. Unlike last year, when the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series was his top priority, this year – his driving duties of the No. 71 Chevrolet Camaro are his top focus.
With plenty of points in the bag, Smith is happy to have momentum ahead of Sunday’s Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway.
“Everything’s been going great,” Smith said Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. “I honestly feel like we had a good start at the 500. Scored some good points from it. Hopefully, we can carry that momentum into Atlanta and have a good run here as well.”
Smith noted that his schedule has been hectic to start the year, and while he welcomes the fast-paced lifestyle, losing a day to rain ultimately ramped up his week even more.
“Been really busy. I like being busy. It’s fun,” explained Smith. “The weekends are a lot longer. This week has been crazy. I get to see now why rain delays have always sucked, especially on Sunday when you lose a day. It really affects your week. But all good for the most part.”
Hoping to be a Playoff driver in 2024, Smith believes his No. 71 Spire Motorsports team will get a good indicator of where they stand amongst the rest of the competition by the time they leave Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in mid-March.
“I feel like definitely after COTA, explained Smith. “That doesn’t mean that these are just wasteful races. I feel like these races matter so much, how you carry momentum into the next one and what’s crazy about the Cup schedule is just week after week, there’s no time to really reset.
“Making sure you have good weeks and do everything right in your control is very important. I feel like we just came from a superspeedway and this is kinda another oddball and Vegas will be I feel like a true tell, then Phoenix, Bristol, and a road course in there, so I’m going to say after COTA.”
While Smith is in good spirits ahead of his first Cup start at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the Huntington Beach, Calif. native is already looking ahead to Las Vegas Motor Speedway next weekend, where he’ll pull double duty by competing in the Truck Series race on Friday night in McAnally-Hilgemann Racing’s No. 91 Chevrolet Silverado.
“I’m so excited for it,” Smith said with a huge smile. “I just love racing Trucks. I’ve been jealous just watching the truck. I know that races have been crazy so far, but I know later in the year, on some of the mile and a half they go to – they are just so much fun.”
Despite what some may believe, the 25-year-old Smith believes that there are similarities between the Cup car and the Truck that he feels could be a value that helps him not only on Friday night but during next Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“Honestly, how they sometimes race, whether it’s how you get your runs or how you get your placement of the vehicle, is so similar to the Cup car with the mile-and-a-half package. I feel like it will definitely help,” sounded Smith.
Hunting his 10th career Truck Series victory, Smith is itching to win in Sin City.
“I’m excited for Vegas,” offered Smith. “That’s probably the highest on my list of a place I’ve always wanted to win and just have always fell short of it. Hopefully, next week is enough. It was really good to see the MHR trucks qualify so good (at Atlanta).
“I did see on Twitter (X) the No. 91 lost their pit pick for next week, which is me – so that sucks, but it’s awesome to see them have the speed. It don’t help any. But then again, we’ll all be faced with some adversity, so it is just how we get through it.”
Familiar with the speed in the Truck Series with Front Row Motorsports, Smith said he is feeling upbeat about the speed that McAnally-Hilgemann Racing has showcased in the first two weekends of the season, including the Statesville, N.C.-based organization putting all four of its trucks inside the top-five during qualifying on Friday afternoon.
“I think they had all of their trucks inside the top five. This is a little bit different of race track and race in general, but it’s better seeing up there than the other side of the field.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01 or email at [email protected].
