AUSTIN, TX. – The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series returns to the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) road course hard-pressed to equal the dramatic closing laps of the 2022 race there – but absolutely up to the challenge. Zane Smith earned the second of his four wins in Austin en route to last season’s championship.
The 24-year-old Californian swept both stages in the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford and ultimately earned a 3.5-second victory over John Hunter Nemechek in a wild double overtime – both cars emerging from a frantic three-wide battle at the front of the field on the final restart. NASCAR Cup drivers Busch and Bowman and truck full-timer Stewart Friesen made contact out front on that last green flag run allowing Smith to navigate around and eventually hold Nemechek and Busch off for the win.
It’s exactly the kind of spirited racing that NASCAR fans and their favorite drivers have come to expect on road courses. And COTA has not disappointed.
Christian Eckes heads into Saturday’s XPEL 225 (1:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at the 20-turn, 3.410-mile course with a slim five-point advantage on veteran Matt Crafton in the 2023 driver standings. Eckes won last week at the Atlanta Motor Speedway 1.5-miler, holding off rookie Nick Sanchez and Nemechek for the win – his second career victory.
The top seven drivers in the standings – after three races – are separated by less than 30 points. Eckes and reigning champion Zane Smith (Daytona) are the only full-timers with a win in 2023. Ty Majeski (-8), 2021 series champion Ben Rhodes (-12) and Zane Smith (-15) round out the top five.
This will be the first road course test of the season for the drivers – although Smith and Rhodes co-drove to an IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car win on the Daytona International Speedway road course in January. Last year’s CRAFTSMAN Truck Series’ road course race winners were Smith (Austin), Busch (Sonoma, Calif.) and Parker Kligerman (Mid-Ohio).
All three will be racing Saturday along with NASCAR Cup Series regulars Alex Bowman and last year’s NASCAR Cup Series race winner at Austin, Ross Chastain.
Smith’s win at COTA last year makes Front Row Motorsports 2-0 at the track; with Todd Gilliland earning the inaugural win for the team in 2021.
“Atlanta didn’t go as we wanted at the end, but we had speed,” Smith said of his 20th-place finish at Atlanta after winning the 2023 season-opener and finishing second in the next race at Las Vegas.
“We’ve still had a good start to this season and now it’s time to rebound at COTA. Last year was a lot of fun and we want to repeat it and keep this streak going.”
Source: Holly Cain/NASCAR Wire Service
