NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES: NEXTERA ENERGY 250

February 17, 2023

Zane Smith

Press Conference

An Interview with:

THE MODERATOR: We're going to continue with our post-race press conference for tonight's NextEra Energy 250. We're joined by our race winner, Zane Smith. Zane, congratulations on the win tonight. This is your eighth victory in 70 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races. A little bit of a different race with the weather delays and trying to dry the track and get back out there. Talk about your truck early on and really what you're looking forward to this weekend and on into the season with this team.

ZANE SMITH: Yeah, I guess starting out at practice yesterday, I was pretty happy with my truck, how it drove. Obviously there's a lot of new people and new places and a lot of rookies, and obviously a lot of them qualified well. I was a little worried there, but my plan was to kind of hook up with Chase and Parker and Corey, and we kind of stuck to that plan. I saw those guys try to make three wide work way too early for a few stage points, and I just didn't see that risk versus reward there.

Fortunately stayed out of those two messes and charged to the front after Stage 2 and kind of maintained that track position, and fortunately got to the lead at the right time.

Q. I kind of feel like you're the Michael Waltrip of the Truck Series because you won the straight-up Daytona, then the rain shortened Daytona. A little before your time. Does it make it, I guess, sweeter or acceptable that you won one straight up and then you got one this way? It's not going to be in the back of your head, we won Daytona but it was rain shortened?

ZANE SMITH: Yeah, I mean, fortunately they don't ask how, they ask how many. Obviously I wanted to win it how I did last year, and it was a little bit more exciting, but I mean, anytime you have the opportunity to win and stand in Victory Lane at Daytona, I don't think anyone is going to turn that down.

Super excited for my whole team. They put in such an effort this off-season, worked their guts out like usual, and I'm just happy to see it pay off for them. Obviously we're carrying this momentum that we ended our year last year. It's the same group, same people and same goal. We're off to a good start.

Q. Does it feel like you picked up where you left off tonight from last year?

ZANE SMITH: Yeah, definitely. I mean, that was something we kind of joked about. I mean, really from the final half of the year last year and then rolling into this year, I just felt like we just had so much momentum. I knew our trucks were going to be good, and firing off practices yesterday was probably the best speedway truck I've had. I wasn't too worried about qualifying much as just worried about getting caught up in someone else's mess. Sure enough, they were not too smart in the beginning, and I just kind of hung around right behind them and waited for their mistakes, and obviously I didn't know the rain was going to come and shorten the race, but I knew that how we kept coming in and topping off that we were setting ourselves up to lead that final stage. That's what we did.

Obviously just fell a little short of finishing the thing, but I feel like we would have had a great shot regardless.

Q. Last year obviously ended on top of the world. This year you're starting on top of the world and you've got another shot on Sunday. I heard you say on the broadcast that you're loving how this week is shaping up already. Have you even had a minute to let any of this sink in yet? Is it one of those where it may not sink in until Sunday when you're in the car getting ready for the 500?

ZANE SMITH: Yeah, in all honesty, yes, I'm nervous, but I'm just so ready for Sunday to be here. Obviously last night was a ton of fun getting into the 500. That was a win for us pretty much the same -- literally the same group on our truck is the same group that we have on the Cup car. I'm happy we transferred in there.

I was happy actually with my car and in practice. I got to go mess around some in the draft with other guys I didn't really get to race with in the Duel last night. I'm so excited for Sunday. It's going to be such a cool experience, obviously with two of my really good friends that we grew up together in Noah and Riley, and it'll be awesome. I didn't want to let them down for that cool picture if I didn't make it, and obviously that stat with the past three champions, I kept hearing about it, and obviously those two were locked in, so I didn't want to let everyone down.

Q. I remember looking at a kid that was smiling about like you are right now standing next to a legends car years ago, and you said to me then, I don't know where we're going to be in five or ten years, but I hope it's somewhere cool. Does this week looking towards your first 500 constitute somewhere cool?

ZANE SMITH: Yeah, I mean, obviously I think every little kid that wants to be in NASCAR or in racing grew up watching the Great American Race. You take for granted all the races that you're locked into. I don't really remember the last time I had to race into something.

I honestly feel like superspeedway racing hasn't been my strong suit, and I've honestly grown to like it in a way and kind of put a lot of attention on making myself like it. Fortunately lately it's been kind of working.

Q. What was more exciting, last night or tonight?

ZANE SMITH: Obviously tonight. I mean, it was just a different kind of excitement. Obviously last night went really smooth, and we were just happy that we were able to transfer in. You never know what's going to happen at Daytona on Sunday.

Happy to be in the show, but tonight was so cool. Regardless of how you end up winning it, obviously, yeah, I wanted it to be an exciting finish, but like I said, I don't know anyone who's going to turn down a win at Daytona for one, and it's a playoff spot, and we're locked in. I didn't get any stage points tonight, but we're leaving in the playoffs.

Q. Zane, along with you, Chase Elliott, Travis Pastrana and Corey LaJoie, you guys are some of the drivers who started tonight and are planning to run the 500. Is there anything you learned tonight that can help you on Sunday? I know there's changes, this is a night race, Sunday is a day race and this is trucks and you're going to be racing cars, but is there anything from tonight that can help you on Sunday?

ZANE SMITH: In all honesty, the Cup car is so much different than I feel like anything. But there are a few similarities I feel like in the truck race and how the Cup car is in a way. Like I said, they're so far apart.

But it was cool, when those guys come in, race on Friday nights with us, I was kind of around Chase for a lot of tonight, and obviously he's pretty successful on superspeedways, and just kind of being around him and watching how he'll latch on to you, you always learn a thing or two from those guys that have just been doing it a good bit.

Yeah, I feel like I learned something from them tonight and hopefully apply it in the future.

Q. I just wondered if you could explain the Christian Eckes thing a little bit. He said during the rain delay, "I swear if he Mickey Mouses his way into this, I'm going to be so mad." But obviously it was more in jest; you guys took a Twitter photo after the race. Talk about your relationship with him a little bit because he felt like he had a winning car tonight and didn't get the chance.

ZANE SMITH: Yeah, nothing new to me. I'm always carrying him in beer pong and everything in between, so call me Mickey Mouse as much as he wants.

Q. Just about Daytona 500 practice earlier, as opposed to the Duels where you were running in nighttime conditions, the practice earlier took place more in conditions that will resemble the late stages and end of the race on Sunday. Were there any subtle differences in the handling of your car or otherwise that you noticed?

ZANE SMITH: No, I feel like we improved on the Cup car in a big way. I felt like I was struggling massively to stay in the pack, and today, I don't really know exactly what we changed, but I just felt like I was able to latch on to guys a little bit better and some of the handling was maybe a little bit better.

I know it's a superspeedway, but I really enjoy the Cup cars. I think they're a lot of fun to drive. I think Sunday will be a lot of fun.

Q. Obviously Front Row Motorsports won the Daytona 500 two years ago with Michael McDowell, but the way Todd ran in his Duel race after yours and contending for the win there, did that send a jolt of energy through the entire organization that hey, we've got a shot here?

ZANE SMITH: Yeah, yeah, that was cool to see him go at it there at the end. Unfortunately didn't get it, but obviously showed some speed there.

Q. I just want to continue off what Tom was asking. Can you talk about your relationship with Christian Eckes?

ZANE SMITH: Yeah, we're good friends. I didn't want to have that come off the wrong way.

Q. Of course not, but from what I recall, I don't think you guys have ever been teammates. Is that just a bond that's formed over years of just growing up racing with each other?

ZANE SMITH: Yeah, in a way. I mean, we have our group of friends that when COVID came around, we were kind of hanging out every day. That's where Christian and I became good friends. Yeah, we haven't been teammates, but I feel like we've been turned into veterans of the Truck Series in a way.

He's a cool dude and always fun to race with.

Q. I just wanted to ask you a little bit about the development over at Front Row and how things have gone. Obviously as somebody mentioned Michael winning here, you winning here again. What is the mood like in the shop and this continued building at Front Row of getting better and better and better? What is the projected outcome?

ZANE SMITH: Yeah, I mean, Bob Jenkins wants to win. It's just been cool to see myself and my whole team really be a part of that, for one. I think when I first went to the shop, they had about four win banners, obviously one really big one, and I feel like we've just added a lot last year, and we get to add a new one now.

Those just really build so much for all the guys that you don't see at the racetrack. They're working just as hard each and every day. Obviously we've seen their Cup cars improve, and it's very cool to see, and obviously getting that truck championship last year I feel like just builds so much confidence and something for them to build off of.

Q. You've mentioned several times about working with Chase Elliott tonight. How much of an opportunity is this for you to build up a little bit of trust, a little bit of a rapport in the draft going into Sunday?

ZANE SMITH: Yeah, I mean, we were pushing hard, but I've never raced in the Daytona 500, but I can assure you they'll be pushing 10 times as hard as we were. But my goal for Sunday is a little bit different than a lot of others. Obviously we aren't chasing stage points. We're going for the best finish at the end. You never know how these are going to play out; sometimes the whole field is around in the final stage and sometimes there's about 10 cars.

Hopefully we're there in the picture, and never know what's going to happen.

THE MODERATOR: Zane, congratulations again on the win, and we wish you the best of luck on Sunday.