“Zane [Smith] was pretty much at the top of that list the whole time. Huge fan of him..,” Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks had said in 2023 talking about signing the then-Front Row Motorsports driver. However, exactly one year later, the picture has taken a complete turn—in a way that can only be described as heartbreaking. Once touted to be the next big thing, Smith found himself stranded amid “empty promises” as a free agent. The team announced in August last year that the two were mutual parting ways after the 2024 season. But was it actually mutual?

Well, as per Zane Smith’s recent revelations, it was more about being blindsided than anything. But before we get to that, let’s understand what exactly went down with the 25-year-old driver. In the recently concluded Cup Series season, Smith was driving the No. 71 Chevrolet on loan to Spire Motorsports who were in partnership with Trackhouse. While he left no stone unturned in his rookie season, securing 4 top-10 and 2 top-five finishes, there was an important decision lurking in the shadows for owner Marks…

You see, the team had two charters in 2024 with full-time drivers Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez, and had planned to add another from the now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing. Now add to that: Shane van Gisbergen was also signed to Marks’ arsenal, but was on loan to Kaulig Racing. So, inevitably, the Trackhouse management was required to choose between Gisbergen and Smith. And, the three-time Supercars champion clearly had the upper hand with three wins, 10 Top-10s, and seven Top-5s in his rookie Xfinity season. And not to mention his Cup Series win during his debut at the Chicago Street Race in 2023, over NASCAR bigwigs like Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Busch, among others.

In 2024, too, the Kiwi racer ran in 11 Cup Series races, finishing P2 at Watkins Glen, and securing two more Top-20s and one Top-15. Now, you could ask, why didn’t Justin Marks simply purchase another charter to accommodate all his talents? Well, there are several reasons actually. For starters, charters are immensely expensive, with prices easily reaching $40 million. And even if Marks did have the money, he wouldn’t be able to, as per NASCAR’s new rule: Teams are allowed to have only three charters, with the exceptions of Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing, who were grandfathered in with four. All of this has definitely left a bitter taste in Zane Smith’s mouth…  

Speaking of the sudden decision from Justin Mark’s Trackhouse Racing, Smith said to Sportsnaut on January 5, “I didn’t have any other Cup offers to stay at Ford. I didn’t know there were other options. If I had known that what we decided to do wasn’t going to work out, that certain promises weren’t going to be kept, obviously that would have changed things”. This is when Smith had also reached talks with Front Row Motorsports to get back into an agreement. However, with Front Row Motorsports being stuck in the middle of a NASCAR lawsuit, not being able to get the charter from Stewart Haas Racing would have an impact on the total standing. 

However, Front Row Motorsports did get the decision in their favor and got Smith back to the Cup Series. Speaking of the same, he said, “I feel like I’ve lost three years of my life this year. When I was let go, it was a weird situation and life isn’t always fair, but it wasn’t fair. I got a text from Bob (Jenkins, FRM team owner) asking if I was set for next year so I told him, ‘As a matter of fact, I just got fired’.”

He added, “I thought he was just interested in talking about the Truck Series but after going back-and-forth and realizing what he was putting together, I signed within a week. I’m not educated enough on the lawsuit to offer an opinion on it but I knew enough then to realize that it was getting tense with the charter stuff. Once FRM and 23XI filed the lawsuit, I thought, ‘Man, I can’t catch a break here’.” 

Marks, on the other hand, was pretty clear about his decision. In a conversation with The Athletic‘s Jeff Gluck, he said, “It was honestly a pretty easy decision for us, because [SVG] checked a lot of boxes. It’s a commercial sport, it’s fitting the company, it’s personality, all that. We don’t have four cars, we have three. We’re excited about the decision we made with SVG.”

Having said that, all’s well that ends well, as Smith’s old team owner Bob Jenkins intervened at the right time, to give the young driver’s career a new lease on life…

Smith mentions that he could not think of a “better line-up” going into 2025

Winning the last trial was very important for Front Row Motorsports, particularly at a time when all the transactions for the charter purchase from Stewart Haas Racing had already been made. This is exactly what allowed Front Row to get a third car for the season and bring in Zane Smith full-time. 

Speaking of the decision, team owner Jenkins said, “We want to welcome Zane back to Front Row Motorsports. He brought us our first championship and we believe that he can win in the NASCAR Cup Series, too. We have always believed in his talents, and we will work hard to give him what he needs to be successful. We have confidence in Zane. This finalizes our drivers for 2025 in the Cup Series and we can now make all our teams as strong as possible”. 

Even Zane Smith seemed to be ecstatic about the opportunity, given that it had come at a time when he would almost be rendered teamless. Perfect timing! Acknowledging the opportunity he got, Smith said, “Now, going into next year, Front Row has really taken their Cup program to another level and I cannot think of a better lineup of teammates. Todd (Gilliland) and Noah (Gragson) are great friends of mine and we all have a lot to prove as young drivers in the Cup Series. It is a great time to come back and continue to build my career with an organization where I know I can win”.

Given that Smith finished 30th in the Cup Series standings in his debut, practice, and efficiency might prove to be eventful for him.