Zane Smith Bio
Zane Michael Smith (born June 9, 1999) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 38 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Front Row Motorsports. Smith is the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion, a title he earned in his first season with the organization after spending several years developing his career through the Truck Series and ARCA ranks. Standing 6 feet 2 inches tall, he has built a reputation as a disciplined racer with a knack for close finishes.
Early Life and Background
Smith was born in Huntington Beach, California, to parents Mike and Debbie Smith. He grew up in a household with deep ties to motorsports, as his father runs the professional off-road racing team Herbst-Smith Fabrication. Trucks built by Herbst-Smith have won the Baja 1000 more than ten times, giving Zane early exposure to high-level racing culture.
Smith began his competitive racing journey with Racing Snails before moving into go-karting in 2004. He dominated the karting scene, winning championships for five consecutive years. After that strong run, he advanced to legends car racing and eventually graduated to super late models, setting the stage for a smooth transition into stock car racing.
Path to NASCAR
In 2015, Smith broke through on the super late model circuit, capturing wins in the World Series of Asphalt, the Pro All Stars Series, and the CARS Tour, along with a runner-up finish in the prestigious Snowball Derby. Those results earned him the 2015 CARS Super Late Model Tour Rookie of the Year award and put him on the radar of NASCAR team owners.
He tested an ARCA Menards Series car with Mason Mitchell Motorsports at Daytona International Speedway in January 2016, and later that year competed in two ARCA races with Venturini Motorsports. In 2017, Smith signed with Venturini for nearly the full ARCA schedule, posting eight top-ten finishes in eleven races and earning 2018 ARCA Racing Series Rookie of the Year honors after a strong sophomore campaign. He also made his Truck Series debut in June 2018 at Gateway Motorsports Park with DGR-Crosley, finishing fifth in his first national-series start.
Zane Smith Career
Early Career (2015-2018)
Smith’s early career centered on super late models and the ARCA Menards Series, where he developed his skills against experienced competitors. In 2018, he re-signed with MDM Motorsports for a full ARCA season, winning the second race of the year and adding a historic victory at Talladega Superspeedway that was decided by a 0.000-second margin, the closest finish in ARCA history at the track. He closed the year with another win at Toledo Speedway and finished second in the ARCA championship standings.
That same year, Smith was named to the NASCAR Next program for the second consecutive year, reinforcing his status as one of the sport’s top young talents. His late-season Truck Series debut at Gateway showed that he was ready for national-series competition, even though his full-time Truck opportunity would not come until the following season.
Craftsman Truck Series Breakthrough (2020-2022)
Smith joined GMS Racing for the full 2020 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series season and quickly became a championship contender. On August 7, he captured his first career Truck Series victory at the Henry Ford Health System 200 at Michigan, passing Christian Eckes on the final lap in overtime. He added a second win at the KDI Office 200 two weeks later, advanced to the Championship 4 round as the only non-playoff winner, and finished second in the standings behind teammate Sheldon Creed. He also earned the 2020 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Rookie of the Year and Most Popular Driver awards.
He returned to GMS in 2021 and won the United Rentals 200 at Martinsville to clinch his spot in the Championship 4 race at Phoenix. Although he finished fifth in the finale, he again placed second in the championship standings, this time behind Ben Rhodes. On November 30, 2021, Smith was announced as the driver of the No. 38 truck for Front Row Motorsports beginning in 2022. He opened that season with a win at Daytona, dominated Circuit of the Americas by sweeping both stages, and clinched the regular-season championship after the CRC Brakleen 150 at Pocono Raceway. He then won the championship race at Phoenix on November 4, securing his first NASCAR national-series title and delivering Front Row Motorsports its first-ever NASCAR championship.
Cup Series Breakthrough (2022-Present)
Smith made his NASCAR Cup Series debut on June 2, 2022, substituting for COVID-positive Chris Buescher at Gateway, where he started 32nd and finished 17th on the lead lap. In 2023, he split time between the Truck Series and Cup Series, winning back-to-back Truck races at Daytona and Circuit of the Americas while running a partial Cup schedule with Front Row Motorsports and Rick Ware Racing. His best Cup result that year was a 13th-place finish in the Daytona 500.
On September 16, 2023, Smith signed a multi-year agreement with Trackhouse Racing and drove Spire Motorsports’ third team in 2024. He struggled through eighteen consecutive finishes outside the top ten before producing a career-best Cup result, a runner-up finish to Joey Logano at Nashville. He parted ways with Trackhouse and Spire on August 23, 2024, and on January 2, 2025, Front Row Motorsports announced his return as driver of the No. 38 Ford Mustang Dark Horse. He earned his first career Cup pole at Talladega in spring 2025 and finished 28th in regular-season points, missing the playoffs. He exited a frightening Kansas crash in the fall uninjured after his car barrel-rolled along the outside wall during an overtime attempt with John Hunter Nemechek.
Driving Style and Strengths
Smith is known for his composure on late-race restarts and his willingness to use the outside lane in heavy traffic, an approach that produced his dramatic overtime win at Michigan in 2020. He pairs well with crew chief Ryan Bergenty, and his track-type strength has traditionally been on intermediates and superspeedways, where he has earned multiple Truck Series poles and victories.
Notable Races and Milestones
Signature moments include his 0.000-second victory at Talladega in 2018, his overtime Truck win at Michigan in 2020, his championship-clinching win at Phoenix in 2022, and consecutive Daytona victories to open the 2022 and 2023 Truck seasons. His 2025 Cup pole at Talladega also marked his first pole position at NASCAR’s top level.
Zane Smith Career Wins
Across NASCAR’s three national series and the ARCA Menards Series, Smith has compiled 13 verified wins, including 9 in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and 4 in the ARCA Menards Series. His Truck totals include the 2022 series championship, while his ARCA win total includes the historic Talladega photo-finish in 2018.
Craftsman Truck Series Highlights
Smith has 9 wins, 61 top-ten finishes, and 3 poles across 9 Truck Series starts from 2018 through 2024. His first win came at Michigan in 2020, and his most recent victory came at the XPEL 225 at Circuit of the Americas in 2023. His championship-winning 2022 campaign featured wins at Daytona and COTA and the regular-season title.
Other Wins and Performances
Beyond his national-series success, Smith captured 4 ARCA Menards Series wins, including races at Fairgrounds and Pocono in 2018, and was the 2018 ARCA runner-up. He also made a Stadium Super Trucks debut at Road America in 2020 and, with teammate Harrison Burton, won the 2023 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge event at Daytona International Speedway.
| Series | Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
|---|---|---|---|
| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series | 9 | 61 | 3 |
| ARCA Menards Series | 4 | 26 | 3 |
| NASCAR Cup Series | 0 | 15 | 1 |
| NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (Xfinity) | 0 | 8 | 0 |
Zane Smith Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Smith is the son of Mike Smith, who operates the Herbst-Smith Fabrication off-road racing team, and Debbie Smith. Through his father’s business, Smith grew up surrounded by the engineering and fabrication side of motorsports, with Herbst-Smith-built trucks having won the Baja 1000 more than ten times.
Personal Life
Smith is married to McCall Gaulding, the younger sister of fellow race car driver Gray Gaulding. The couple’s relationship ties Smith even closer to a racing family, and he continues to make his home base around his Front Row Motorsports commitments.
2025 Season Performance
Smith returned to Front Row Motorsports in 2025 to drive the No. 38 Ford Mustang Dark Horse, reuniting with the team where he won his 2022 Truck Series championship. His season opener at the Daytona 500 ended early with a 36th-place result, but he rebounded with his first career Cup pole at Talladega in the spring and added three top-ten finishes across the regular season.
Despite those bright spots, Smith finished 28th in the regular-season standings and missed the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. A frightening multi-car incident at Kansas in the fall sent his car barrel-rolling along the outside wall during an overtime attempt, but he climbed out under his own power and was not injured.
Working again with crew chief Ryan Bergenty, Smith now turns his attention to building consistency and chasing his first career Cup Series victory. With a multi-year deal in place at Front Row Motorsports, he remains positioned as a key part of the organization’s long-term Cup plans.
