Zane Smith signs with Trackhouse Racing, will race for Spire Motorsports in 2024
In a move that only Trackhouse Racing could pull off, they have announced they are signing Zane Smith to a NASCAR Cup Series deal in 2024. However, Smith is going to be leased out to Spire Motorsports in a new alliance deal between the teams. For those keeping track at home, Spire reportedly just picked up the Live Fast Motorsports charter.
This move makes Trackhouse Racing the team of the future in NASCAR. They will have Ross Chastain, Daniel Suárez, Shane van Gisbergen, and Zane Smith on their roster. Those are drivers that fans and sponsors can get very excited about.
From a talent standpoint, Trackhouse Racing has a lot of it and each of these drivers have a ton of years ahead of them in racing. The team noted they have a multi-year deal with Smith and hold his rights as a driver for many years.
Rumors in the last couple of weeks hinted that a deal like this was coming. The team Smith would actually drive for was in question, though.
This isn’t just a major deal for Trackhouse, but also Spire. It elevates that team, which has clearly had a major financial partner step in with Gainbridge and Group 1001. Those entities joining the sponsorship ranks has made a massive difference. It appears that they are doing more than just sponsoring Spire cars, and the Andretti family could be involved as well.
Spire Motorsports will go from Corey LaJoie and Ty Dillon to likely a lineup that includes LaJoie, Carson Hocevar, and Zane Smith. 2024 could be really fun with talented drivers taking roles on smaller teams.
Smith had an announcement set for 5:00 p.m. this evening to make this deal official. By the time he was able to share the news, it was more or less an open secret.
Zane Smith where he wanted to be all along
During the press conference, Zane Smith made it clear that Trackhouse Racing was the team that he wanted to be with. It wasn’t an accident that he got this deal, either. Justin Marks and Ty Norris noticed Smith’s talents early on.
However, it was a recent race that solidified their plans to sign Smith. The 2022 Truck Series champion has proved himself in that series. It was his performance in the Coca-Cola 600 that pushed him over the edge with Trackhouse.
A top-10 performance at Charlotte in the most grueling race of the season was impressive. Zane Smith has been waiting for a chance like this. He thought it would come after his championship. It didn’t.
Everything has worked out for Smith, though. He’s ready to take on the Cup Series and this will give him the best chance to do it.