Zane Smith Explains His Unique Loan Deal Between Trackhouse Racing and Spire Motorsports Ahead of His Debut

All racers are buckling their belts for a bumpy ride in the upcoming 2024 season of NASCAR. While some drivers hold years of experience behind them, others are excited to dive into a series of firsts. Zane Smith is one of the latter, all set to shine in his Cup Series debut. His situation is unique considering how the conventional system was tweaked to accommodate this talented driver in the 2024 Cup Series races.

Smith earned a seat in this year’s championship via a special alliance. Trackhouse Racing and Spire Motorsports inked a deal to help push this rising star to achieve his dreams. Smith is a Truck series champion and holds nine starts in the Cup series. He won in two races for Front Row Motorsports and finished 7th place in the series standings last season.

Zane Smith simplifies the loan deal that got him in the 2024 races

In a recent interview with Racing America, Zane Smith expanded on being part of two race teams. He said, “Yeah, it’s obviously a very confusing situation. But I guess the easiest way to explain it would be Trackhouse contracted on loan to Spire for the year. And, um, it’s been a crazy offseason with obviously, everything that Spire has been doing, with getting a new shop and acquiring another charter. They say the sport is all about timing. I feel like I am the net: a great position being a part of both in a way; and so excited for the year, and ready to learn a lot”.

Smith also opened up about how he felt about being enlisted for the high-ranking races for the first time. He said, “I guess at Bristol still thinking back to that day that, it just became real right, when you’re in the media center and you hear Justin Marks and Ty Norris announce that it’s officially real.” 

He expressed immense gratitude to both teams for offering him a gateway to his dreams. “So, uh, having friends, family and everything in between there I think is where the emotion came from: just thinking back, of having flashbacks of everything that it took and all the sacrifices made to get the opportunity to race on Sunday is what every driver dreams of. So, um, to have that happen to you is just so surreal.”

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How Trackhouse and Spire joined hands to have Zane Smith race

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Trackhouse Racing signed a multi-year contract with Smith to compete in the 2024 season. However, Trackhouse lacked the means to accommodate him fully. This is because it holds only two charters (which guarantee teams a spot in each race) in the series. These charters were already fielded out to Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez. Hence, Spire pitched in and purchased a charter from Live Fast Motorsports. Spire then allied with Trackhouse to fix a spot for Zane Smith in 2024.

Justin Marks, owner of Trackhouse Racing, shed light on the matter last year saying, “Expansion can look a lot of different ways. Our alliance with Spire and the opportunity to have Zane drive over there next year gives us the ability to grow in 2024 to an organization where we can put three cars on the racetrack full-time in 2025 and beyond.”

Read More: Dale Earnhardt Jr Reveals the Glaring Reality In Front of Zane Smith After His Move to Trackhouse – Spire Alliance