Zane Smith recaps battling up front before winding up seventh at Atlanta 

Zane Smith reflected on a chaotic Quaker State 400 and revealed where he lost momentum and dropped off from a top-three run. The Front Row Motorsports driver secured his third top-10 result of the season after surviving an 18-car wreck mid-race.

During Saturday's race at Atlanta, Smith was the last of the Fords to lock out the top 8 qualifying spots. In a race that saw 46 lead changes among 13 drivers, the former Truck Series champion briefly held the lead for a total of 5 laps in the final stage.

He constantly swapped places with the No. 48 of Alex Bowman and the No. 6 of Brad Keselowski. Notably, Smith had made only six stops in the race, compared to the seven of Bowman and Keselowski. This left him vulnerable to overtakes as he eventually dropped off from contention before finally finishing in seventh.

NASCAR analyst Bob Pockrass shared a post-race interview with Smith, where the FRM driver detailed his struggles in the closing laps.

"That top three I felt comfortable and I felt I had a good idea of how the race is gonna play out. And then as soon as I don't know who got a huge run, I think maybe the 48, two guys cleared me, and that was where my I went downhill from there," he said.

"I just got lost my momentum, and then before I know it, I'm tenth and I gotta build my momentum back up and a run out lap. Everything just happened so fast here. Yeah, I mean, all in all, though, really proud of the whole effort," he added.

Zane Smith took home 33 points but saw no change in his driver's standings at 25th. However, he beat out Austin Cindric in the In-Season Challenge, owing to the latter's retirement from the mid-race wreck triggered by Denny Hamlin. Up next, Smith heads to the Chicago Street Course to take on Chris Buescher in the Challenge Round 2.

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Zane Smith finds reactions to the Mexico City race similar to Chicago

Zane Smith recently slammed the sport's 'overreaction' to the Mexico City race held at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. While many complained about safety and food concerns, the California native brushed off criticisms and compared the fallout to Chicago's surprise success.

“It reminds me somewhat of Chicago, too. Like, 'Oh my gosh, this is gonna be a trainwreck.' And then we go to Chicago and they're like 'Oh my gosh, this is the most fun weekend ever!'” he said in an interview with NASCAR reporter Steven Taranto.

Zane Smith is currently in his sophomore year in the Cup Series. He previously drove for Spire Motorsports in 2024, when he made his first start at Chicago. He went on to lead three laps in the road course before settling for a 17th-place finish.