Zane Smith wanted Daytona 500 win but settles for good points day

Zane Smith came up just short of winning the Daytona 500 but a sixth-place finish combined with a victory in the first stage leaves his No. 38 Front Row Motorsports team fourth in the early championship standings.

This is more an important result than at any point of the past decade because a good points day very much has value under the restored Chase for the Championship coming up in September.

Under the win and you’re in format, leaving Daytona fourth in the standings didn’t have much value because a driver like Smith racing for Front Row would need to be well inside the top-10 to make the playoffs without a victory.

Now, this is a banked result, because the final top-16 in the regular season standings all qualify for The Chase and will be seeded by their results over the first 26.

“I think I scored 41 points, which is a great day for us, and how our season starts is it’s definitely a superspeedway and somewhat a superspeedway,” Smith said of Daytona and Atlanta that follows. “But what I’m getting at is a lot can go wrong in those two races how you start out, and I think we’ve got a road course next, so just a strong start is so important to get those valuable points and hopefully carry that into these more normal racetracks coming up, like Phoenix and Vegas, where hopefully we have some of that positive momentum still going where you get to go out later in qualifying.”

Zane Smith, Front Row Motorsports Ford

The point Smith makes here is that qualifying order is partially dictated by the championship standings. The higher in points go out near the end when the track has the most grip and the potential of a higher starting spot and pit selection is greater.

So, while Smith still wants nothing less than to score his first victory at the highest level, there are other big pictures to consider under The Chase for the Championship format.

“To me, I’m looking for my first win, so I’m as hungry as ever and going to be as aggressive as ever to accomplish that, but, at the same time, I sound like a broken record saying it, but consistency is going to be everything this year,” Smith said. “I feel like those days of guys who maybe have a ton of speed every week and then wreck and not really care because they can, I feel like those days are just long gone.

“I’m trying to take advantage of that and just maybe try to be smarter and make my bad days not so bad and making my good days good, where we get some stage points like we did and putting ourselves in contention. I feel like that’s all I can do. I would love to be a name in this Chase, but, at the same time, we’re taking it one week at a time and just trying to roll with them on that.”

A shot at the Daytona 500 win

Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford, Riley Herbst, 23XI Racing Toyota, Zane Smith, Front Row Motorsports Ford

With all of that said, Smith wasn’t thinking about points on Sunday night, challenging Chase Elliott for the lead in the Daytona 500. Ultimately, the final laps were just chaotic and it was every man for himself.

His fellow Ford mates in the picture, Brad Keselowki and Joey Logano each made moves that served their best interests but the same was true of Elliott, Riley Herbst and eventual winner Tyler Reddick too.

And Smith wasn’t just going to push Elliott, either.

“Fortunately, I’m not wired that way to just push someone across the line and not go for a Daytona 500 win,” Smith said. “If I knew (Reddick) and (Herbst) were as connected as they were, I don’t know, I guess maybe try to shove (Elliott) or stay as close as I can down the front stretch and hopefully them two are really connected and a bad block or two gets thrown into the equation and maybe I could go bottom or something, but that’s so hard to say.

“The odds are kind of stacked where I had to stay in second and wait for the 45 to come with a huge run. Who knows what happens, so I was trying to control my own destiny and try to back up to help as we did all day, and I feel like anyone would do – not just settle for second in the Daytona 500.”

Regardless, this was a good day for Smith, and they have real big picture momentum and a similar opportunity at Atlanta.

“It was really cool to get a stage win and ultimately leave with a great finish and some great points scored,” Smith said. “It was just a great car and a lot to be proud of and it just makes me that much more excited for the superspeedways throughout this year and obviously somewhat one this weekend, but I’m gonna be really hungry for a Daytona 500 next year and hopefully we can carry this momentum throughout the year and score a win or two.”