A Bridesmaid No More!

By: Tom Luttermoser

November, 2020. Phoenix Raceway. My good friend Kyle and I watched a young man from California come runner up in his first full season in the Camping World Truck Series to Sheldon Creed. The next day he walked up the grandstands and took some time to take a few pics with us. Fast forward the following year, that same young driver was running his way to his first championship before being bumped in the left rear and became a bridesmaid once again. 

Now, in 2022 that same driver won my first ever race at Daytona and would go on to win two more times before making it to Phoenix once again. And, in dominant fashion, would go on to score the last ever Camping World title. Zane Smith led 77 laps, won both stages and held off a hard charging Ben Rhodes to the line. 

Smith will be running in the now newly rebranded Craftsman Truck Series for Front Row Motorsports in 2023 once again. It was also announced he would run select races in the Cup Series for Front Row starting with the Daytona 500 as well as a possibility for a few Xfinity Series races as well. He has one thing going for him going into next season, he now has the confidence of a sitting Champion!