Zane Smith takes NASCAR Truck Series championship in Phoenix in thrilling OT finish
For Zane Smith, the third time was the charm.
The 23-year-old driver, after two runner-up finishes in 2020 and 2021 and an inspired playoff run in 2022, finally got the NASCAR Truck Series championship win he was waiting for Friday at Phoenix Raceway.
It’s the first Truck Series title of his young career.
“I wanted this (win) more than anyone in the world, I don’t care what anyone says,” Smith told Fox Sports, a few seconds after he’d just won the biggest race of his life. “Thank you all you race fans, my whole team. Oh my God, I was crying that whole lap.”
Smith swept all three stages (and even started on the pole) on Friday night. But that doesn’t mean the victory arrived without a fight.
A caution with 13 laps to go changed the race’s complexion and sent all four Championship 4 drivers — Zane Smith, Chandler Smith, Ben Rhodes and Ty Majeski — down pit road.
Rhodes took two tires while the rest of the championship field took four, and that slung Rhodes into the lead when the race went green with about 10 laps to go. At one point in the race’s final stretch, the Championship 4 drivers occupied spots 1-4.
With three laps to go, trying to make a championship move, Majeski bumped into Smith on a turn and spun out — prompting a caution, burying Majeski in the field and setting up an overtime run that could make any race fan’s heartbeat skyrocket.
In the overtime two-lap shootout, the freshly-tired Zane Smith was able to somehow maneuver around Rhodes and hold off Chandler Smith — crossing the start-finish line before the rest of the field.
Then began the celebrating he’d so long dreamed of.
“I wasn’t going to let it go down like that,” the winner said. “I was either wrecked, or I was winning this thing. There was no other option.”
Rhodes, last year’s Truck Series champion, finished second. Chandler Smith finished third. And Majeski finished 20th.
“We didn’t have the pace all night to get up there and compete, so it was a great heads-up call by my crew chief (to go with two tires on the last pit stop),” Rhodes told Fox Sports after the race. “Ultimately, we just didn’t need that last caution. I think we could’ve held him off for the final few laps. I was giving all the dirty air he could handle, so that caution just got us. I did what I could on the restart to try to get a jump, but two tires versus four, I just didn’t have the grip I needed.”
Rhodes added, with a disappointed but sportsmanlike smile: “We didn’t have the pace, but we got up there, and that’s what matters at the end. We just gotta go back, do our homework, and yeah, second is not fun. I’m gonna mope my way all the way back to Kentucky.”
Official results from Phoenix Raceway NASCAR Truck Series championship
Post-race inspection in the garage is complete. NASCAR has given the “all clear.” No issues.
| Place | Driver | Car No. |
| 1 | Zane Smith | 38 |
| 2 | Ben Rhodes | 99 |
| 3 | Chandler Smith | 18 |
| 4 | John H. Nemechek | 4 |
| 5 | Stewart Friesen | 52 |
| 6 | Grant Enfinger | 23 |
| 7 | Corey Heim | 51 |
| 8 | Tanner Gray | 15 |
| 9 | Kaden Honeycutt | 30 |
| 10 | Carson Hocevar | 42 |
| 11 | Derek Kraus | 19 |
| 12 | Matt Crafton | 88 |
| 13 | Layne Riggs | 62 |
| 14 | Tyler Ankrum | 16 |
| 15 | Colby Howard | 91 |
| 16 | Jake Garcia | 35 |
| 17 | Taylor Gray | 17 |
| 18 | Lawless Alan | 45 |
| 19 | Chase Purdy | 61 |
| 20 | Ty Majeski | 66 |
| 21 | Dean Thompson | 40 |
| 22 | Matt Dibenedetto | 25 |
| 23 | Tyler Hill | 5 |
| 24 | Austin Wayne Self | 22 |
| 25 | Blaine Perkins | 9 |
| 26 | Chris Hacker | 43 |
| 27 | Timmy Hill | 56 |
| 28 | Johnny Sauter | 02 |
| 29 | Jack Wood | 24 |
| 30 | Christian Eckes | 98 |
| 31 | Hailie Deegan | 1 |
| 32 | Rajah Caruth | 7 |
| 33 | Spencer Boyd | 12 |
| 34 | Keith McGee | 33 |
| 35 | Armani Williams | 20 |
This story was originally published November 5, 2022 at 12:49 AM.
