Penalised Zane Smith Hopeful of Bristol Rebound in Cup Series After Truck Heartbreak

Zane Smith drove a fantastic race at the Bristol Motor Speedway in the Truck Series race finishing P3 but his crew’s day was ruined by NASCAR after the event. However, the 24-year-old seemed satisfied with his performance in the post-race interview, stating that he was excited about the Cup Series race on Sunday after the track delivered a nail-biting encounter which saw Christian Eckes edge out Kyle Busch for the win.

The issue with the #91 was an error by the crew chief, who was levied a monetary fine after the post-race inspection as per Bob Pockrass. Turns out, Smith’s car had one lug nut either loose or missing. It was a rather unsavory ending to a day that the Spire Motorsports crew otherwise could’ve been proud of. At least they will be careful enough to not make the same error in the Cup race.

Zane Smith wanted the bottom to stick a bit longer at Bristol

Bristol Motor Speedway, of late, has been a track where it is difficult to pass, especially due to the resin laid down to improve grip. This time, however, that came off as the day went on and the trucks were able to move around a lot quicker. Veteran racer Matt Crafton was especially dissatisfied as he implored NASCAR to never lay it down in the track again. Zane Smith also felt the change and was pleasantly surprised.

During the practice and qualifying sessions for the Cup Series race, the 24-year-old had some concerns as the track felt sketchy and unpredictable. With the Next-Gen car and its short-track problems, a poor surface is the last thing the Cup race needed. Thankfully, those concerns were laid to rest by the end of the Truck Series.

“Yeah, I would like to see the bottom maybe be a tick stronger for a little bit longer. I felt like it came up quicker than I thought especially for a Truck race so yeah I’m excited. I feel like the race will be pretty good tomorrow. I was a little concerned with how it would be in Cup practice and qualifying with just how sketchy it was but I had some fun with these tonight,” Smith said in an interview with Frontstretch.

The former Truck Series champion has never won a race at the historic short-track and while he failed to do it in the Truck race, he will be aiming for it in the Cup event. But the odds are stacked against him.

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Odds stacked against Spire Motorsports star at iconic short track

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Smith qualified P16 which is decent for a rookie but not high enough to have a shot at winning unless he gets lucky with cautions or runs a fantastic strategy. His record at the track is not indicative of mastery as the 24-year-old’s average finish at the track in the Truck Series was 12.5 with 0 race wins. Sunday will be his first-ever race at the track in a Cup car.

Despite an impressive P3 finish in the Truck Series race, the odds are stacked against the Spire Motorsports star, literally. His odds of winning the event are 1000-1 as per CBS. Even if he does not manage to win the race, a top-5 finish would be seen as an outstanding result as well. Ahead of the Truck race, the Cup Series rookie acknowledged the difficulty of navigating around Bristol. “Bristol is such a cool racetrack and really challenging to race,” he said as per Speedway Digest.

Given how the Truck race went, there is a lot of hype for the Cup Series race, that too on a short track. Will the Next-Gen car be able to deliver as nail-biting an event as the Trucks? Let us know your thoughts.

Read More – Christian Eckes Holds of Charging Kyle Busch as He Claims 6th Career Win at Bristol