Avondale, AZ–Zane Smith was at his best all night taking the dominant lead with a high speed seventy-seven laps of full octane in his Front Row Motorsports number 38 truck at the NASCAR Truck Series at Phoenix Raceway Friday night, though a slow pit stop put him fourth among those with four fresh tires.
It was no surprise to see the driven twenty-three year old Huntington Beach, CA native perform vigorously outrunning his competitors on the final lap, keeping them clear off his tracks after winning the regular-season championship making the victory his fourth of the year. “I didn’t think it was going to be that dramatic, but the third time is the charm”, Smith said.
The three other championship contenders had their shots at the win-Ben Rhodes finished second, Chandler Smith third and Ty Majeski was twentieth after spinning while battling Zane Smith for second with three laps remaining. The turnaround likely cost Rhodes, who possibly could have held off Zane Smith if there wasn’t another restart to bunch up the field.

Three of the four finalists — Zane Smith, Rhodes and Majeski — will return to their teams next season. Chandler Smith will move to the Xfinity Series to drive for Kaulig Racing.
“The Truck Series has grown in depth, and the strength of the field has become incredible”, said Rhodes, the 2021 Champion. “Like, it is getting so incredibly hard to get top-10’s now”.
Next Up:
NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship-Saturday, November 5th at 6PM and NASCAR Cup Series Championship Sunday, November 6th at 3PM at Phoenix Raceway.
