NASCAR: The driver linked to the newly added Cup seat for 2025
By Asher Fair
Front Row Motorsports acquired a charter from Stewart-Haas Racing early in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season for 2025, with Stewart-Haas Racing having announced that they will shut down at the end of the year. The move confirmed an expansion from two to three cars for next season.
Bob Jenkins' team are one of two teams, along with 23XI Racing, that have not yet signed the new NASCAR charter agreement. But they still plan to compete in 2025, and they still have a seat to fill.
2021 Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell is set to leave Front Row Motorsports after spending seven years behind the wheel of the No. 34 Ford. He is set to join Spire Motorsports.
Todd Gilliland re-signed with Front Row Motorsports for a fourth season, though whether or not he will drive the No. 38 Ford he current drives, the No. 34 Ford, or the newly added Ford (presumably No. 36) remains to be seen. The team have also signed current Stewart-Haas Racing driver Noah Gragson.
Who will be the third Front Row Motorsports driver?
Probably a driver who, believe it or not, was once tied to the team through 2026 to begin with.
After back-to-back finishes in the championship with GMS Racing in 2020 and 2021, Zane Smith competed for Front Row Motorsports in the Truck Series in 2022 and 2023. He won the 2022 title and was under contract with the organization on a development deal through 2026.
That deal included select Cup Series starts in 2023, with Gilliland forced to step aside from time to time throughout the year after a rough rookie season.
But when McDowell re-signed for 2024, Smith was allowed to pursue other opportunities. He signed a development deal with Trackhouse Racing Team and was leased out to Spire Motorsports for the 2024 Cup Series season.
But he will not return to Spire Motorsports in 2025, and his relationship with Trackhouse Racing Team recently came to an end, as the Justin Marks and Pitbull-owned team opted to put Shane van Gisbergen in their recently acquired third entry for next year.
Smith is linked to return to Front Row Motorsports as the replacement for the driver replacing him at Spire Motorsports, the same driver whose Front Row contract extension freed Smith up to pursue that very Spire ride last year.
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Will he ultimately join Gilliland and Gragson as a part of a youthful Front Row Motorsports lineup next year?
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