Big things were expected of Front Row Motorsports in 2025, as the team expanded to three cars with a talented young lineup featuring Todd Gilliland, Noah Gragson, and Zane Smith.
With only seven races to go, it hasn't quite turned out that way. Gilliland, and especially Gragson, have been disappointments, sitting 31st and 34th in points, respectively.
Furthermore, the team is involved, along with 23XI Racing, in the ongoing charter lawsuit against NASCAR, which has likely impacted on-track performance. Rumors have swirled that the organization could downsize in 2026 as a result.
Smith, however, has been a bright spot. He has punched above his weight all year, and it culminated in a season-best third-place effort in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday.
Zane Smith's improvement deserves more recognition
Last season, Smith's rookie year with Spire Motorsports started out as a disaster. For much of the first half of the season, he sat 34th (last) in points out of all full-time drivers by a wide margin. But he began to turn it around late in the campaign, ultimately improving to 30th in the final standings.
In 2025, Smith has built on that progress after moving back to Front Row Motorsports, the team with which he won the Truck Series championship in 2022.
Throughout the season, he has consistently been the fastest of FRM's three drivers, despite the team taking a step back on the whole. He hasn't always gotten the results to match his performance, but visibly, he has been one of the Cup Series' most improved drivers.
On Saturday, that was clearer than ever, as Smith and his No. 38 team put together their best full race yet. His average running position of eighth was a career-high, as was his Driver Rating of 111.4, which ranked behind only Ty Gibbs and Ryan Blaney.
For Smith to turn heads specifically in a race such as Saturday's, in which tire management was key, it showed exceptional discipline and race craft by the second-year driver.
Many of his additional strong runs this season have been on the more driver-oriented tracks on the Cup Series schedule, such as his 12th place finish at Darlington Raceway, 11th at Richmond Raceway, and seventh at EchoPark Raceway (Atlanta) in which he led during the closing laps.
It's unclear how high Smith's ceiling is, especially as Front Row continues to be wrapped up in off-track turmoil. But he's making the most of his opportunity, and if he continues to progress, perhaps a more stable one could come calling.