First years are rarely good. When Kyle Larson first entered the Cup Series in 2013, he had no top-5s or top-10s. He honed himself over time, with his big break coming after joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2020. The same goes for Martin Truex Jr – he barely left a mark in the first decade. Then, after joining Furniture Row Racing, his fortunes turned. So the right team’s touch might also give Zane Smith that head start.
And the Cup Series rookie even boasts some good runs this year. Most recently, he bagged a top-10 finish in Michigan. Smith lost the winner’s spot to Joey Logano by a matter of a few seconds in Nashville. So the rumor mills are churning for Smith at the same time as Riley Herbst, who may join 23XI Racing.
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“We’ve still got really fond feelings for Zane. He did a phenomenal job for two years with our Truck team.” That is the first hint that Jerry Freeze, Front Row Motorsports general manager, dropped last month. Zane Smith indeed left a blazing trail in his Craftsman Truck Series journey, clinching the championship in his first season with FRM in 2022. Then a part-time Cup Series schedule followed in 2023 – but then Smith shifted allegiance, as he joined Trackhouse Racing for 2024, also in association with Spire Motorsports.
But both teams do not have places for him – Trackhouse is roping in Shane van Gisbergen, while Spire has bagged Michael McDowell. Instead, Zane Smith has a chance to go back to his Truck team, FRM. A NASCAR insider recently fueled this possibility in an X post. “Still expect Zane Smith to land in the 3rd FRM car,” they tweeted. This seems very likely, given Freeze’s continued confidence in the 25-year-old driver.
This echoes Riley Herbst’s free-agent situation, as the Stewart-Haas Racing driver is currently on the lookout for his 2025 ride. Herbst’s four-year Xfinity stint in SHR has been mixed – the first two years were winless, although he made the playoffs. Last year, he missed the postseason entirely yet scripted his first victory at Las Vegas. This year as well, Herbst beat his stellar teammate Cole Custer to clinch another win at Indianapolis. This prompted Denny Hamlin to set off rumors about his 23XI Racing ride.
“Impressive,” the 23XI Racing co-owner tweeted. And that was enough to fuel speculation. This came after Stewart-Haas Racing announced this May that the team would shut down at the end of the season. With Front Row Motorsports buying one of their four charters and Gene Haas retaining another one for the Haas Factory Team, there have been rumors that Hamlin and Michael Jordan are considering purchasing one.
Herbst’s Xfinity teammate Cole Custer is going HFT’s way, and owing to Herbst’s ties with Monster Energy (who also sponsors 23XI’s Tyler Reddick), his move to Hamlin’s team is a possibility. And the insider also fueled this rumor: “Herbst has his ride and charter already.”
Riley Herbst bags a Cup ride—Will he rise to the occasion or crumble under pressure?
Still expect Zane Smith to land in the 3rd FRM car
— BrakeHard (@BrakeHardBlog) August 30, 2024
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As for Zane Smith, Jerry Freeze has already hinted at his 2025 Cup ride at FRM. He believes Smith is a rising ‘star’: “If Zane were to be a free agent for next year, I think that’s something that we would certainly be interested in for sure. I don’t know if he is, but we really believe in Zane’s talent, and I think he’s going to be a star. Everybody’s gotta go through that learning curve in the Cup Series.” And Hamlin also holds faith in Smith’s abilities.
A lot of faith in Smith’s prowessGranted, Zane Smith has not exactly sparkled as a rookie driver. He finished outside the top 30 eight times out of 18 races in the first half of the season. While his Spire teammate Corey LaJoie struggled, Smith was even worse. And Carson Hocevar, the contending Sunoco Rookie of the Year winner, trumped both by his stellar runs. Yet Smith did make a slight improvement – the No. 71 Chevy turned heads with a runner-up finish in Nashville. And then another top-ten result came at Michigan International Speedway.
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So as Denny Hamlin professed confidence in Riley Herbst, the 23XI Racing team owner also has faith in Zane Smith. Hamlin pointed at the team: “This is a new car, new team which, at the time, was a mid-tier team. What are your expectations? But I think he’s taken it to the next level from what I’ve seen. That when given a little bit of experience, he’s already turned the corner to being twice as good as he was at the beginning of the season. So, what is he gonna do a year from now? Two years from now? I think the ceiling is pretty high on him. I think he’ll get picked up by somebody who sees it.”
Evidently, Zane Smith’s future looks bright despite his misfortune with Trackhouse and Spire. His old team is waiting to welcome him back if the rumor meets with reality.
Source : EssentiallySports