Front Row Motorsports (FRM) has signed Zane Smith as its third driver for 2025, making full use of its recent legal victory over NASCAR. FRM and 23XI put themselves in a difficult position last September when they sued NASCAR for alleged monopolistic actions rather than signing the 2025 Charter Agreement. However, Front Row Motorsports and 23XI Racing achieved a major legal win on December 18th when a judge in North Carolina approved their application for a preliminary injunction, allowing them to compete with charters until the 2025 antitrust case is resolved.
(The teams would have been forced to compete as “open” teams without guaranteed race starts if they had lost the December motion request or NASCAR’s subsequent unsuccessful appeal.) In order for FRM to grow into a three-car operation, the court’s ruling also compelled NASCAR to authorize the acquisition of a Stewart-Haas Racing charter. FRM was able to join the six teams operating three chartered Cup Series vehicles (Trackhouse, Spire, RFK, Penske, and eventually, 23XI) as a result of securing those victories in court. Therefore, along with Todd Gilliland and Noah Gragson, 25-year-old Zane Smith will be competing full-time in FRM’s No. 38 Ford Mustang.
Smith, who won the 2022 NASCAR Truck Series championship with FRM, ran a portion of the 2023 Cup calendar with the team before leaving and having a difficult 2024, is getting back together. Under contract with Trackhouse, he participated in the Cup Series as a rookie with Spire Motorsports last year. Smith didn’t appear ready for a full-time Cup ride after finishing in 25th place or worse 11 times in the first 14 races of 2024. However, he turned things around in the latter part of 2024 with a second at Nashville, a fifth at Watkins Glen, and a seventh at Michigan. After losing his position, he now has another chance with FRM, hoping to follow in their footsteps.
In addition to competing with NASCAR alongside 23XI, the team has created a lot of noise on the racetrack, including winning the Daytona 500 in 2021, making the playoffs two of the previous four years, and earning a Tier-1 Ford status in 2024. Additionally, FRM secured six pole positions in the previous season, including a front row lockout at the second Daytona event. Following a difficult rookie Cup campaign last season, Smith will have to continue to grow. He will now try to extend FRM’s winning streak by a few more successful days.
