NASCAR
Zane Smith Goes Back-to-Back in COTA Truck Race
AUSTIX, Texas – Defending Truck Series champion Zane Smith is picking up right where he left off 2022. The Daytona winner in each of the last two years, the 38 found victory lane again in Austin by besting Kyle Busch at COTA. While last year’s win saw Smith take command on the last lap, this year saw a dominant effort thanks to a great pit call by the 38 crew. The Front Row Motorsports team remains undefeated at COTA, as the 38 has won all three Truck races here.
The first Stage went to last week’s Truck Series winner Christian Eckes. Mechanical issues set the 19 back however, leading to a great battle between Cup stars Kyle Busch and Ross Chastain for Stage 2.
By virtue of not pitting, Busch took the Stage win as a caution came out right at the end. The 51 would be one of very few to not pit prior to this yellow. Chastain would also face adversity with an extended pit stop after this Stage.
The final Stage would see Zane Smith restart as the leader. The 38 was on pit road as the Stage-ending caution flew, giving him fresh tires and prime track position. This would be the deciding factor of the race, with the 38 taking off and never looking back. While Busch did rally from 15th to second, he was still five seconds back of Smith at the finish.
This entire race felt like a mirror image of COTA in 2022 for Zane Smith. There was one major difference post-race though, coming from his celebration.
“Catching on fire in victory lane, that’s a first for me,” Smith joked after quite literally burning it down. “That’s a bummer right there, but just a shoutout to everyone on Team FRM. (Crew chief) Chris Lawson made an amazing strategy there that worked out for us good. That caution advanced us in front of the 41. Just thanks to my pit crew man, they’ve been awesome all this year, it’s been great having them. Obviously the strategy put Kyle (Busch) back there, and us starting on the front row was just perfect. Thanks to Speedco, Peak, and all of our partners on this truck. The Speedco F150 was fast there when it mattered. I just enjoy so much coming to all of the road courses, especially here. So cool the FRM is undefeated here, just a true testament to this team. This is probably the most hectic victory lane celebration I’ve ever had.”
“Once we got down to eight (laps) to go and I got told Kyle was in second, the heart rate went up a bit. Just because he’s so good at managing his stuff, and going when it matters. I was just trying to not make any mistakes, I did make a couple around five to go there. Road courses in general, once you lock up once it’s ten times easier to lock up again. I was just focused on that. I apologize for catching the truck on fire.”
Behind Zane Smith and Kyle Busch, the top-10 were: Ty Majeski, Tyler Ankrum, Ross Chastain, Corey Heim, Nick Sanchez, Tanner Gray, Kaz Grala, and Ben Rhodes.
See the current Truck Series Playoff standings below, as Zane Smith continues to lead thanks to his two wins. The 38 will prove to be tough competition as the FRM team so far is 2-2 on backing up their 2022 victories.
Up next for the Craftsman Truck Series is the other Lone Star State race, Texas Motor Speedway on April 1st. The SpeedyCash.com 220 will go green at 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Can Zane Smith’s title defense year remain on high, or will another driver break into victory lane?
Written by Peter Stratta
Be sure to follow us on Twitter
Be sure to follow the writer on Twitter
Photo Credit to Front Row Motorsports via Twitter
