🇺🇸 Zane Smith

Zane Smith is an established professional driver competing full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series. His racer rating of 5,930 places him in the established professional band; at this level, a driver holds a regular seat at the top tier of national racing or competes as a factory driver in top-category sportscar racing, and wins consistently in the strongest fields. Smith earned the 2022 NASCAR Truck Series championship, his career's signature result, across a nine-season span from 2018 through 2026 and 215 starts across four series.[1]

Smith's primary success has come in the Truck Series, where he recorded nine wins and 28 podiums across 97 starts. His record against sustained rivals shows a driver holding his own among front-running professionals. Against Carson Hocevar, a slightly stronger driver by rating, Smith finished ahead in 82 of 171 shared races; against John Hunter Nemechek, rated essentially level with him and a two-time series champion, the head-to-head split ran 76 ahead to 80 behind across 156 races. Smith has also beaten elite drivers in single-race outings; he finished ahead of Kyle Larson 28 times, Chase Briscoe 40 times, and Ryan Blaney 30 times, all drivers rated considerably above his own level. In the Cup Series proper, his principal stage since 2022, Smith has started 105 times with two podiums and no wins, placing him mid-field on average. His record against the elite has continued there, with 77 top finishes against Kyle Busch and 81 against Ross Chastain, the 2022 Cup champion; he has also finished ahead of Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney 30 times each in that series.[2]

Smith's rivalry with Hocevar, evident in recent headlines, reflects a tight competitive relationship forged across many seasons in the lower NASCAR series. As of the most recent record, his career remains active in the Cup Series.