Zane Smith is five races into his rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series and to say it’s been a struggle is an understatement. The 2022 trucks series champ got a solid 13th-place finish in the season-opening Daytona 500, but it’s been a downhill trajectory since – his best finish, a 29th at Phoenix. His other three finishes have been 35th or worse. Despite those struggles Smith’s next race at COTA could be just what the doctor ordered because it’s where he got his last NASCAR win, the 2023 truck race as he went back-to-back after winning it the year before.
I sat down with the Spire Motorsports driver and we talked about various topics, including his slow start in 2024, what it’s like working with teammates Carson Hocevar and Corey LaJoie, and just how hard it is being a NASCAR driver.
Zane Smith Off to Slow Start in 2024 Rookie Cup Series Campaign
Zane Smith knew the 2024 season was going to be a challenge. It is for all Cup rookies. Even for ones who have a resume like the 24-year-old that includes nine Truck Series wins in four full-time seasons, including the 2022 campaign, which ended in Phoenix with him hoisting the title.
So how challenging is it for someone who’s had so much success to endure such tough times on a regular basis in a sport where drivers lose 95 percent of the time or more?
“It’s definitely tough, especially in the Cup Series,” Smith admitted. “Just with how tough it is to consistently win and perform. I feel like if you surround yourself with the right people off the track and you’re preparing for a race weekend and perform to the best of your ability, then I feel like you’re able to sleep at night knowing you did everything you could. But it’s still a team sport and there’s so many areas where you just have to execute on. Yeah, it’s a long road to win on Sunday, but hopefully you could shorten up that road sooner or later.”
Smith Talks About Working With Teammates Carson Hocevar and Corey LaJoie
In 2024, Smith finds himself in a unique position being one of two rookies at Spire Motorsports, with Carson Hocevar the other. With both of them going through a lot of the same things for the first time, do they lean on each other?
“I feel like when it’s a rough weekend, it’s just kind of a reset on Monday,” he said. “And focus for around the next weekend. But yeah, Carson and I get to spend a good bit of time together. Just all the track training stuff in our schedules align a lot of the time. And then, obviously our competition meetings and whatnot, and we get to hang out on a racetrack every weekend. So yeah, it’s been cool to have another rookie in the building and I guess getting to bounce our feedback off each other and whatnot.”
Corey LaJoie made a sign for the original Spire Motorsports shop and he made the sign for the new shop. He talks sign making as well as the chatter that he will be pushed by rookies Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar racing for Spire this year. pic.twitter.com/hjbaKLO01I
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) January 24, 2024
With Corey LaJoie the veteran of the group, what kind of conversations does he have with him?
“I feel like Corey’s a cool dude and a good teammate and whatnot,” Smith said. “So it’s cool to hear I guess where Spire once was from him and what it is now. So it’s cool to be a part of it in their growing process, especially this year has just been big for them and it’s cool to see that it’s paying off for them on the truck side, especially. Each and every weekend, I feel like, especially on the Cup side, Sunday is super tough, but they’re definitely taking steps in the right direction.”
Details the Challenges of Being a NASCAR Driver
Smith’s success in Trucks earned him the opportunity to race in the Cup Series, a series where he competes against the top 40 drivers in the world on a weekly basis. How difficult is that and how do you convey that to the average person?
“What I always try to explain to NASCAR and the top three tier series, especially on Sunday is, that there’s a ton of drivers from the dirt world, the road course world, or growing up racing on ovals,” he said. “It’s a lot of kids that are growing up trying to make it to typically the top three tier series. And where it’s really tough is every year it seems like, whether it’s baseball, football, basketball, there’s new players that are drafted or put onto that team. Well, in NASCAR it’s similar to golf in a way to where there’s different ages all throughout it. And so, there’s 40 of the best drivers in the world and that’s what’s on Sunday.
“And so it’s just really hard to get a spot at the table, but I guess explaining the race car is everyone is extremely good. We’re not just turning left. If it was that easy, I feel like anyone could do it. But we’re giving feedback on trying to make our car better. We are splitting razor thin margins on where we need to run. We’re basically a tenth of a second could put you in the top 10 or from 25th to 40th. And so that’s where it becomes really difficult. And then obviously on the physical side that people don’t really understand is that these cars are not easy to drive. We’re using 500, 600 pounds of brake pressure and especially at this weekend.
“And there’s different driving techniques for one and then obviously the heat of the car is what typically stands out to people, whether it gets up to 130 or so degrees. And people lose sometimes up to 10 pounds in races. And so it’s 38 weekends straight. We never have a home game. We’re always traveling. It’s probably the shortest off season in any professional sports. It’s wild and it’s a brutal sport, but definitely very fortunate to be here.”
Zane Smith may just be 24, but he’s wise beyond his years. He’s got the mind and skills of a veteran, which will eventually translate into trips to Victory Lane. And that’s what will keep him in NASCAR’s top tier for years to come.