Front Row Motorsports (FRM) has actually put its current victory in court over NASCAR to excellent usage, signing Zane Smith as the group’s 3rd chauffeur for 2025.
Last September, FRM and 23XI declined to sign the 2025 Charter Agreement, and rather submitted a match versus NASCAR declaring monopolistic practices– putting the groups in a precarious position. On December 18th, Front Row Motorsports and 23XI Racing protected a substantial legal success when a North Carolina judge gave the 2 groups’ movement for initial injunction, providing them the right to contend with charters while the antitrust suit unfolds in 2025. (Had the groups lost that December ask for movement– or NASCAR’s subsequent unsuccessful appeal– they would have needed to race as “open” groups without ensured race starts.) The court’s choice likewise required NASCAR to authorize FRM’s purchase of a Stewart-Haas Racing charter, which it required to broaden into a three-car operation.
Getting those wins in court led the way for FRM to turn into one of 6 groups running 3 chartered Cup Series cars and trucks (Trackhouse, Spire, RFK, Penske, and– quickly– 23XI). As an outcome, 25-year-old Zane Smith will be running full-time in FRM’s No. 38 Ford Mustang, along with Todd Gilliland and Noah Gragson.
Zane Smith raising the 2022 Truck Series champion prize while with Front Row Motorsports
Picture by: Matthew T. Thacker/ NKP/ Motorsport Images
It’s a reunion for Smith: he won the 2022 NASCAR Truck Series title with FRM, then ran a partial Cup schedule with the group in 2023, just to leave and have a difficult 2024. He completed as a Cup Series novice with Spire Motorsports in 2015 while being under agreement with Trackhouse.
Smith had 11 surfaces of 25th or even worse in the very first 14 races of the year, and didn’t look all set for a full-time Cup trip– just to turn things around in the back half of 2024 with a 2nd at Nashville, a 5th at Watkins Glen, and a seventh at Michigan. He lost his seat, today gets a 2nd run with FRM, where he’ll aim to match FRM’s current trajectory.
Going to fight with NASCAR together with 23XI, the group’s made plenty of sound on-track: a Daytona 500 win in 2021, playoffs 2 of the last 4 years, and ending up being a Tier-1 Ford group in 2024. And last season FRM notched 6 poles, consisting of a front row lockout at the 2nd Daytona race.
It’ll be on Smith’s shoulders to continue establishing after a rocky start to his novice Cup project last season. Now he’ll seek to include a couple of more great days to FRM’s string of triumphes.
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Nick DeGroot
NASCAR Cup
Zane Smith
Front Row Motorsports
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