One of eight remaining drivers with a chance to capture NASCAR’s first-ever In-Season Challenge, Zane Smith harbors hope of advancing to the fourth of five rounds.
What must he do to make it happen? Finish better than Ty Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Racing on Sunday at Sonoma Raceway.
But toppling Gibbs — as much as Smith would love it — isn’t his main focus. Instead, he’s locked in on something he deems to be of greater importance.
Zane Smith Is More Interested In Big Picture Than In-Season Challenge
Having both advanced through two rounds in the original 32-driver In-Season Challenge bracket, Zane Smith and Ty Gibbs are now paired against each other. Ty Dillon versus Alex Bowman, Erik Jones versus John Hunter Nemechek, and Ryan Preece versus Tyler Reddick are the other driver combinations set to face off.
The top finisher from each head-to-head battle will advance. But reaching the fourth round — which will feature just four drivers — is not where Smith’s head is right now.
Unlike Reddick and Bowman, who are in position to make the season-ending playoffs, Smith can’t realistically join them there without winning one of the seven remaining regular season races. So, going to Victory Lane — not getting the upper hand on Gibbs — is by far his top priority at the twisty road course in Northern California’s Wine Country.
Gibbs, in all likelihood, is approaching the weekend similarly.
“I don’t want to speak for Ty,” Smith said on Wednesday. “But I feel like we’re both in the boat, as of today, that, ‘We’re going to Sonoma to try to win the race and advance to the playoffs.’”
Even though Smith anticipates his team will tell him during the race where Gibbs stacks up, the second-year full-time Cup Series driver plans to concentrate on simply finishing as well as possible. Regardless of how Gibbs fares, a win — and only a win — will secure Smith an automatic playoff berth.
“I’m sure I’ll get told once or twice about where he’s running or what’s going on with him and what strategy they’re doing and many other things,” Smith said of Gibbs. “But ultimately, we’re trying to advance to the playoffs.”
Although Not Losing Sleep Over In-Season Challenge, Zane Smith Would Happily Collect $1M Prize
Seeded 14th in the In-Season Challenge, Zane Smith is one of numerous Cinderella stories to emerge from the first two rounds. He disposed of 19th-seeded Austin Cindric (Team Penske) in Round One at Atlanta. Then, he knocked off third-seeded Chris Buescher (RFK Racing) Sunday at the Chicago Street Course.
Despite Smith being seeded higher than Cindric, most prognosticators did not pick him to prevail in either matchup. But prevail he did.
“It’s cool to still be alive in this bracket challenge,” said Smith, who drives the No. 38 Ford for unheralded Front Row Motorsports. “My last week’s pairing with Chris, I knew we were gonna have our work cut out for us, just with Chris’ stats. But it’s still racing. And things happen. And we were able to advance.”
Fun weekend. Up and down day but no quit with our 38 @Team_FRM @vermeer team. P14 in chi town. pic.twitter.com/8h24mJJvlm
— Zane Smith (@ZaneSmith) July 6, 2025
If the 2022 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion shocks the NASCAR world by eliminating sixth-seeded Ty Gibbs and ultimately taking the In-Season Challenge, he has a plan for how he might spend the winner’s $1 million prize.
“I don’t know how much I would totally get,” Smith said. “But hopefully, I’d be able to get a decent chunk and be able to split it across the whole (No.) 38 team. And they can go and do whatever they want with it. Then, if I’ve got any left over, I’d maybe put some money towards a pool or something.”
