**Smith** Eyes Victory at Sonoma Amidst In-Season Challenge

Driver focused on playoffs, downplays tournament

Despite his current 24th-place position in the NASCAR Cup Series standings, **Zane Smith** has a golden opportunity this weekend at Sonoma Raceway. He’s still in contention in the In-Season Challenge and could secure a playoff berth with a win.

Playoff Hopes Ride on Sonoma

**Smith**, piloting the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford Mustang, is set to face off against **Joe Gibbs** Racing’s **Ty Gibbs** at Sonoma. The victor advances to the tournament’s semifinal, where a $1 million prize awaits.

“It’s cool to still be alive in this bracket challenge,” **Smith** said, noting the challenge of facing strong road racers like **Gibbs** and **A.J. Allmendinger**.

**Smith** added, “I enjoyed the repave at Sonoma and had a lot of fun there last year, so I’m hoping for another solid day. I hope to advance this week as well, but with that said, I’m focused on beating everyone and hopefully advancing into these playoffs.”

Focused on the bigger picture

**Smith** emphasized that his team’s primary goal is winning a race, viewing the In-Season Challenge as secondary. He acknowledged that both he and **Ty Gibbs** are primarily focused on securing a playoff spot through a race win at Sonoma.

“I don’t want to speak for **Ty**, but I feel like we’re both in the boat as of today — we’re going to Sonoma to try to win the race and advance to the playoffs,” **Smith** stated.

NASCAR’s playoff format rewards race wins, giving automatic entry to the 16 drivers with the most victories over the regular season. Currently, there have been nine different winners in the first 15 races of the 2024 season (NASCAR.com).

“All I can hope for is to have a shot at it and, hopefully, keep this consistency up that we’ve been having,” **Smith** said. “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, but, ultimately, we’re trying to advance to the playoffs.”

Team Performance and Future Goals

Reflecting on his return to Front Row Motorsports, **Smith** expressed satisfaction with the team’s performance this season. Despite a number of 11th-place finishes, he’s proud of the team’s speed and their ability to improve their cars.

“I don’t know how many times I’ve finished 11th this year, but I felt that if I was one spot better, it would be talked about a lot differently of a lot more top 10s, but I’m really proud of the speed we’ve been able to bring,” **Smith** explained.

Looking ahead, **Smith** aims to consistently achieve top-10 finishes and position himself for a race win. He believes that executing well as a team throughout the long Sunday races is crucial to achieving that goal.

“At Atlanta, we came close to that, leading some of those closing laps, which was good fuel for my whole team and myself,” he added.

**Smith** is optimistic about the team’s chances, noting that their increased consistency and ability to collect stage points are positive signs. He hopes to maintain this momentum as the season progresses.