Zane Smith Unlikely to Repeat Truck Series Performances at COTA
8 months agoZane Smith makes his first Circuit of the Americas start in the Cup Series this weekend. Although he qualified back in 34th for this weekend's EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix, he did have a great deal of success at this track in the Truck Series, where he won in both 2022 and 2023. In the 2022 race, he made a nifty move to overtake Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman, and Stewart Friesen four-wide as the three leading trucks fused together outside of the main racing groove, proving that Smith could compete with the Cup drivers in similar equipment. However, rookies in the NextGen Cup cars have seemed to struggle for competitiveness mightily and Smith has been far off the pace of his teammates, Corey LaJoie and Carson Hocevar, all season (as he was in qualifying on Saturday, too). Zane ranks last among Cup full-timers in speed percentile at 13.95 this season. Don't expect Smith to repeat his truck magic.
Source: Racing Reference
Source: Racing Reference