Trackhouse Racing and Zane Smith have decided to part ways. However, this announcement isn’t very surprising! The 2024 season for Smith hasn’t been ideal. He’s currently 33rd on the points table with the regular season almost coming to an end and only has one top 5 and 2 top 10 finishes. He only recently got a top 10 in the Michigan race, where he finished 7th.

Letting Smith go might have come as Trackhouse has shown continued interest in promoting Shane van Gisbergen to the Cup Series, and now it is happening most likely. But fans are not pleased by the decision.

Zane Smith’s 2025 plans hang in the balance

Trackhouse Racing, limited to two charters, had to prioritize Ross Chastain and Daniel Suárez, leading them to loan 25-year-old Zane Smith to Spire Motorsports for the season. With Chastain and Suárez locked in for next season, Trackhouse is likely eyeing an additional charter after Stewart-Haas Racing’s closure to expand its Cup Series lineup. SVG, who has impressed with three Xfinity wins this season, is a strong contender for the third Cup seat, leaving Smith’s future uncertain.

This raises questions about why only Smith faces the brunt of a team struggling overall in the Cup. While Chastain, despite being winless with just three top-5s, remains too valuable to let go, Suárez’s performance has also been ordinary, with only two top-5s outside of his playoff-clinching win at Atlanta. Perhaps Trackhouse could have kept Smith in the mix to shake things up, but that hasn’t happened.

Trackhouse took to X to give their parting statement and wrote, “Trackhouse Racing and Zane Smith have mutually agreed to separate at the conclusion of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, allowing the 25-year-old former NASCAR Truck Series champion to immediately accept other opportunities. Smith drives the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet in an alliance with Trackhouse Racing and will continue for the remainder of this season.”

Getting fired after a good finish has got to be disappointing. And, Smith fairly so, mentioned in his statement, “Obviously, I am disappointed that I’ve been put in a tough spot. I am diligently exploring quality driving opportunities and hope to quickly wrap up my plans for next year. Meanwhile, kudos to our #71 Cup team. We’ve turned our year around this summer with six top-20 finishes in the last ten races, which includes a top-10 last weekend and a runner-up finish in Nashville. With more determination than ever, I will continue to do what I know best, and that is to work hard, race my heart out, and prove myself. Thank you to everyone who has and continues to stand behind me.”

This is surprising because it comes after his P7 ahead of his teammate, Daniel Suarez, at Michigan. After the race, Smith seemed satisfied and looked to pick up things from her on. In the post-race interview, he said, “It was definitely a good recovery. I’m still mad at myself after we sped on pit road once we finally had some good track position. I knew that we were making gains on our Chevy. Once we had to start at the back, I was able to get through a lot of them right away. I felt like we learned a lot there getting back through the field, and we made our car even better.” 

But probably his improvements came a little too late for Trackhouse, a team that has struggled so far this entire season. Yet fans think their probable move to choose SVG over Smith is not the right one!

Fans show their disagreement with Trackhouse firing Zane Smith

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In the three seasons that he has been in the truck, Zane Smith has not managed a single win. He has also lacked consistency, having only one top-5 finish in those three years. Although fans still think it is too soon to judge him, as he’s got the potential. One fan talking on these lines wrote, “Dude completely busted this year and that’s so unfortunate because he has elite potential. Will likely see it happen with another team.”

A fan noted that Zane’s best in the Cup was yet to come and that Trackhouse acted hastily in making the decision. Reiterating this, he wrote, “Y’all dropped the ball on this and you will regret it I hope.”

Another fan believes that Zane Smith is a top prospect in the sport, especially compared to SVG. Well, on paper, SVG’s records do sound better, whereas in only his first Xfinity Series he is the winningest driver. But what is to be noted is that all those wins have come on road courses. This is a limitation when the whole series comes into the picture, which has most tracks as ovals.

Despite SVG’s stats, this fan believes Smith is still better than SVG, as Smith has shown commendable consistency in Truck. The fan wrote, “I can’t believe they chose SVG over one of NASCAR’s Top Prospects”

Looking at Shane van Gisbergen stats, he is currently 12th in the driver’s rankings in his first full-time Xfinity season and it looks like he’s already a veteran of the sport as he has 3 wins so far this season.

One fan took a jibe at Trackhouse on the timing of the announcement. Making it after Smith’s best performance of the season. He wrote, “Kind of shitty timing.” Another fan echoed the same emotions as Smith got a P7 at Michigan. The fan wrote, “Top 10 and you’re out. LOL.”

What do you think of Trackhouse’s move? Let us know in the comments below.