TRUCKS: Zane Smith’s windshield disqualification follows near-miss of chance at title defense
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| PHOTO: Front Row Motorsports, @Team_FRM |
by Brock Beard
LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
Zane Smith picked up the 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career in Saturday’s Baptist Health 200 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway when his #38 Ambetter Health Ford finished 2nd, but was then disqualified after completing all 134 laps.
The finish, which came in Smith’s 91st series start, was his first since March 4, 2022 at Las Vegas, where he was also disqualified after finishing in the 2nd spot. In the Truck Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 7th by disqualification, the 17th for the #38, and the 123rd for Ford. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 52nd by disqualification, the 56th for the #38, and the 1,023rd for Ford.
Last year was the highest of highs for Smith, who after back-to-back runner-up finishes in dramatic championship battles broke through with the Front Row Motorsports team, capping a four-win season. This year, he picked up right where he left off with his second-straight victory in the Daytona opener, then continued FRM’s dominance at COTA with a win there. He’s also become an increasing presence in NASCAR’s other series. He earned a 7th-place finish at Nashville for RSS Racing, his first XFINITY race in two years. And a shared ride deal with FRM’s Todd Gilliland helped Smith make another eight Cup races, including his first top-ten in the series during the Coca-Cola 600.
But this year’s Truck Series Playoffs haven’t produced the same results. After advancing through the first round, a pit miscue in Bristol left him 24th, followed by a disastrous afternoon at Talladega where an accident on pit road sent him sliding into his tire carrier, followed by a transmission failure that made Homestead a “must-win.” Worse, he languished in the garage as FRM’s brand-new second Truck team rolled into victory lane with Brett Moffitt.
Smith began the Homestead weekend as strong as he could, putting up the fastest lap in practice, then qualifying 7th with a lap of 165.017mph (32.724 seconds). His was among a preliminary entry list of 35 trucks – the series’ first short field since Gateway, ten races ago. Before practice, that list shrank again to 34 after Hattori Racing Enterprises withdrew their second entry for Jake Drew, the #61 Toyota.
The 34th and final starting spot fell to Armani Williams, whose #46 Blue Sprig Toyota would mark G2G Racing’s final entry for 2023 and their first start since Mid-Ohio. Williams was one of three drivers to not take time in qualifying along with 33rd-place Jonathan Shafer in the #30 Osgar’s Autobody Toyota and 32nd-place Trevor Bayne, the last-minute driver swap into Rackley-W.A.R.’s #25 Rackley Roofing Chevrolet. Bayne had a vibration in practice which led to a transmission change, incurring him an unapproved adjustments penalty along with Shafer, Williams, and 28th-place Spencer Davis in the #04 Fly Alliance / CarQuest Ford. Also sent to the back were brothers Tanner Gray in the #15 Waterfront Properties Toyota and Taylor Gray in the #17 Dead On Tools Toyota, who surrendered 6th and 12th on the grid after both missed driver introductions.
When the green flag dropped, Davis was last across the stripe, 4.456 seconds back of the lead behind Williams and Shafer. Davis remained last at the end of Lap 1, when his truck suddenly shut off, dropping him 22.925 seconds back of the lead and 9.108 back of Williams. He made it to pit road, where the crew asked him about his fuel pressure. The crew looked under the hood, saying they did little more than wiggle some wires before sending him back out four laps down. Running “low and slow” on the apron, Davis finally completed his second lap on the eighth circuit. The issue wasn’t resolved, and on Lap 13, Davis’ truck was still shutting off in the corners. By then, Williams was first to lose a lap on the track, and on Lap 10 took the Lucky Dog from Davis. Spencer Boyd’s #12 Crowe Equipment Chevrolet then lost a lap on Lap 19, having dropped to 32nd and 3.240 seconds behind 31st-place Memphis Villarreal in the #33 Laredo Trailer Supply Ford.
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| Spencer Davis' #04 in the garage for electrical issues. PHOTO: Sim Racing Media |
On Lap 21, Davis reported his truck was very tight and only pulling 6200 rpms on the straightaways, the fuel pressure down to 10 pounds. He pitted on Lap 23 for a splash of fuel, looking to at least make it to the end of Stage 1. On this stop, he was too fast in Sections 1 through 4, and had to serve a pass-through penalty. He returned to the track eight laps down, but still reported low rpms at around 5000. Davis pulled low on Lap 30, letting by a group of Playoff drivers who put him a ninth lap down just before the end of Stage 1. By this point, Davis now reported a voltage issue saying his battery was down to 11 volts in Turn 4. He came in for a lengthy stop, where the crew looked under the deck lid to address the fuel pressure issue and also check the electrical fault. The volts increased slightly to 11.5 with the fuel pressure to 22 pounds, and he returned to the track. By now, Davis felt he had more power than before, but not as much as the start. “If we can’t maintain speed, we’ll have to bring it in,” said his crew.
Meanwhile, 33rd-place Williams had electrical issues of his own and pulled the #46 behind the wall around Lap 38. As an Ilmor representative came to look over the engine, crew chief Tim Silva insisted it was a battery issue as it wasn’t reading enough amps. Williams returned to the track on Lap 40, showing seven laps down, just as Davis pulled into the garage for the first time. Davis’ crew continued to check both the voltage and fuel pressure while also monitoring an overheating problem that developed on the previous run.
On Lap 54, Davis was preparing to return to the race 21 laps down when the caution fell for a truck stalled on the backstretch. This was Boyd, who slowed and then stopped on the apron of Turn 3, his window net down. While there wasn’t any visible smoke, Boyd had reported a fire in the cockpit and climbed from the truck, ending his race. Boyd got a ride back to the infield as his truck was towed behind the wall, the first retiree from the race. “Did he show any indication of anything before that?” the team asked. “I never saw any smoke,” answered the spotter. “I still don't see anything.” “We’re done because he didn't bring it to us.”
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| Spencer Boyd's #12 after it was towed in for an electrical issue. PHOTO: Sim Racing Media |
Davis returned to the track on Lap 62, the team looking to run on one battery for the rest of the distance. He completed his 32nd lap that time by – his first since going to the garage. By Lap 67, Davis again reported low voltage, and remarked that he was more comfortable on the track than he had been waiting in the garage. He also said he didn’t run a cool suit as he hadn’t done so racing in other divisions. “Miami's nothing compared to Mobile in the middle of the summer,” said Davis around Lap 70. On Lap 74, Davis’ dashboard failed, but the truck was running well enough to stay on track. He came in for a splash of fuel on the 81st circuit, then the next time by finally dropped Boyd to last place. Davis began to lose straightaway speed again, then pulled behind the wall on Lap 96. On Lap 111, NASCAR declared Boyd out, followed by Davis on Lap 114. By entering this race with the most Bottom Fives and Bottom Tens of any driver without a last-place finish, Boyd was set to jump to fourth in the standings. This would put him in position for a second-straight LASTCAR title – pending post-race inspection.
Meanwhile, Zane Smith put forth a valiant effort to punch his ticket into the Championship Four. He took the lead on Lap 68 and led for 34 laps before Ben Rhodes, then eventual race winner Carson Hocevar took command. After the final run, Smith climbed to 2nd place, but finished a distant 2.705 seconds back of Hocevar. And despite Smith’s finishes of 4th in Stage 1 and 2nd in Stage 2, Hocevar’s win bumped Smith out of the Championship Four. Things didn’t get much better, as photos circulated on social media of the left side of Smith’s windshield appearing loose, even flapping during the race. During the opening stages of the XFINITY race, it was announced Smith had been disqualified under Rule 14.4.7.I for a faulty windshield support. The truck ended up covered in the garage, set to be taken to R&D after the race.
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| Zane Smith's truck after failing post-race inspection. PHOTO: Jared Haas, @RealJaredHaas |
With that, Smith took over last place from Boyd, who finished 33rd with Davis now 32nd. Armani Williams took the checkered flag on track 13 laps down after his own early electrical issues. Rounding out the group was Colby Howard, whose #9 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet was collected in a frontstretch tangle with Hailie Deegan’s #13 Fresh From Florida Ford on Lap 70.
Caruth electrifies crowd with late-race maneuvers
Rajah Caruth enjoyed perhaps his best Truck Series performance since his near-win at Darlington in the spring, making several daring moves through traffic in his #24 Wendell Scott Foundation Chevrolet. He ultimately crossed the line in 8th as his GMS Racing teammate Grant Enfinger came home 4th, punching his ticket into the Championship Four. This stands as Caruth’s fourth top-ten finish of the season and first since Bristol, two rounds ago.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the first last-place finish by disqualification in a Truck Series race at Homestead.
*This was the first last-place run for the #38 in a Truck Series race at Homestead since November 20, 2009, when Mike Garvey’s #38 S&W Services Chevrolet overheated after 2 laps of the Ford 200.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
34) #38-Zane Smith / 134 laps / disqualified / led 34 laps
33) #12-Spencer Boyd / 50 laps / electrical
32) #04-Spencer Davis / 65 laps / electrical
31) #46-Armani Williams / 121 laps / running
30) #9-Colby Howard / 129 laps / running
2023 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Reaume Brothers Racing, Young’s Motorsports (4)
2nd) G2G Racing (3)
3rd) AM Racing, Niece Motorsports, Roper Racing, TRICON Garage (2)
4th) CR7 Motorsports, FDNY Racing, Front Row Motorsports, GK Racing, Kyle Busch Motorsports (1)
2023 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (9)
2nd) Ford (8)
3rd) Toyota (5)
2023 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
