Zane Smith reveals what he thought caused his scary Kansas crash versus what really happened

NASCAR Cup Series driver Zane Smith revealed what he thought caused him to crash during Lap 268 of last week’s race at Kansas Speedway. The incident ended the day early for the Front Row Motorsports driver and left him with his fifth DNF of the season.

Smith thought some massive, multi-car pileup had drifted his car up the track, clipping his left-rear quarter panel. But it was only after watching the replay that Smith realized what had actually happened.

As the field entered Turn 3, Smith, who was running 15th at the time, was pushed by fellow Cup racer John Hunter Nemechek of Legacy Motor Club. The impact forced Smith’s car to slide on its side along the backstretch wall before flipping twice and landing on all four wheels.

“Getting into Turn 3, I mean, I didn't even know what happened,” Zane Smith said on Corey LaJoie’s Stacking Pennies podcast (21:30). “I just got hit so hard it made me climb up the wall. I instantly thought...like, man, there must have been a big wreck underneath me and they all slid up into me. But then, after watching it, it was just the 42 (John Hunter Nemecheck) that drove through us.”

“I honestly felt like I was still ripping up against the wall, especially because my head is right by the ground. I felt myself slow down towards the exit of Turn 4, then everything slowed down a lot,” he added.

Zane Smith is one of the drivers who are still vying for their maiden win of the 2025 season. Ranked 27th in the driver standings with 537 points to his name, the Huntington Beach, California native has amassed one top five and four top-10s so far this season.

Next up for Smith is the Bank of ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Scheduled for Sunday, October 5, the 109-lap event will be televised on USA (3 pm ET) with live radio updates on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Channel 90.

---

Zane Smith weighs in on Kansas being his first time flipping a stock car

It’s not new for NASCAR drivers to get caught in nerve-chilling, on-track incidents. However, flipping a stock car right off the ground was a first time for Zane Smith, who is currently in his sophomore season in the NASCAR Cup Series.

After being checked and released from the infield care center at Kansas, Smith finally got the chance to reflect on everything. Pulling no punches whatsoever, the driver said,

“Just crazy restarts at Kansas and, man, I just got wrecked. They just drove right through my left rear, and so hard it kicked me up onto the wall, and then, yeah, just started flipping down the track. No, never flipped a stock car.”

Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports won the race and, with that, a spot in the Round of 8. The top five spots were rounded off by Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, and Bubba Wallace. Smith, on the other hand, was relegated to a P31 finish.