Zane Smith 2026 Season Report Card: A Strong Spring, Then a C-
Welcome to the Happy Hour Racing 2026 Season Report Cards, where every full-time Cup Series driver gets a grade computed from all 36 races, not opinion. Next up: the number 38 of Front Row Motorsports.
The Short Version
Zane Smith's 2026 season in the No. 38 Ford finished 27th in points with no wins, two top 5s and six top 10s. All six of those top 10s came in the first 17 races, and he led 31 laps in the Coca-Cola 600. After June, he did not crack the top 10 again. His average finish went from 20.8 in the regular season to 24.3 in the Chase. The full year grades out to a C-, 27th of 35 full-time drivers.
Why the Zane Smith 2026 Grade Is a C-
Every HHR report card grade comes from the same math. After every race, each driver gets a score out of 100 based on where they finished in the field, how many spots they gained or lost from the start, how many laps they led, and a penalty for not finishing. The season grade is the average of all 36 race scores, curved against the 35 drivers who ran the full year.
Smith's season score ranked 27th of 35, which lands at C-. That is right in line with where he finished in points. The grade is not a story of bad luck in one stretch. It is a story of a good first half and a long, quiet second half.
Zane Smith by the Numbers
Here is where Smith ranked among the 35 full-time drivers in 14 stats. The bar and the circle show his rank (1 is best). The number on the right is the actual stat.
The best number on the card is positions gained. Smith picked up 1.1 spots per race from where he started, 8th best among full-time drivers. He also led 77 laps, 20th in the field, which is more than several drivers who finished ahead of him in points.
The rest of the card sits in the 20s. He averaged a 21.8 finish (27th), a 60.9 driver rating (25th) and a 21.8 average running position (25th). He was running in the top 15 for 27 percent of the laps he ran, 23rd. He finished on the lead lap 16 times, 27th, and had five DNFs.
Where the Good Days Came From
Smith was at his best when the pack was tight. On the six drafting-style races at Daytona, Talladega and Atlanta, he averaged a 16.5 finish. Everywhere else he averaged a 23.6.
- Daytona 500, Feb. 15: started 30th, led 9 laps, finished 6th.
- Atlanta, Feb. 22: started 6th, finished 7th.
- Talladega, April 26: started 30th, finished 5th.
- Coca-Cola 600, May 24: led 31 laps and finished 10th in the rain-shortened race won by Daniel Suarez.
- Nashville, May 31: led 18 laps, finished 9th.
- San Diego Street Course, June 21: started 4th, finished 4th, his best result of the year.
Through those first 17 races, the No. 38 looked like a team on the way up. Charlotte and Nashville were back-to-back weeks leading laps, and San Diego was a clean run from the front on a brand new street circuit.
A Second Half Without a Top 10
After San Diego, the top 10s stopped. Smith's best finish over the final 19 races was 13th at New Hampshire in August. He had two DNFs in that stretch, a crash in the summer Daytona race and another at World Wide Technology Raceway in September, and he finished 36th at Richmond and Las Vegas.
The Chase was his weakest stretch of the year at a 24.3 average finish. He did close with three straight top 20s at Phoenix, Talladega and Martinsville, then a 14th at Homestead from a 27th-place start. Ryan Bergenty was his crew chief for all 36 races, so this was not a team in turnover.
What 2027 Looks Like
No change is expected on the No. 38. Smith is on the contract extension he signed with Front Row Motorsports in October 2025, per RACER. His spot is on our 2027 silly season tracker along with every other ride and crew chief move.
The 2027 season starts with the Clash at Daytona on Feb. 13, then the Daytona 500 on Feb. 21 at 2:30 PM ET on FOX. Given how Smith runs in the draft, that is a good place for the No. 38 to start. Start times and channels for every race are on our race TV guide.
The question for next year is whether the first half was the real Zane Smith or the second half was. Every other driver's grade is on the 2026 report cards page.
The Bottom Line
Smith showed real speed in the spring, led laps at Charlotte and Nashville and ran 4th on the streets of San Diego. Then the results faded for five months. A C- grades the whole year, and the whole year was half of a good season.
Gear Up for 2027
Smith's best runs came at Daytona and Talladega. Grab the diecast from his COTA truck win, or some Daytona 500 gear for February.
- Zane Smith 2022 Speedco COTA Race Win 1:24 Diecast
- 2026 Daytona 500 Trophy Logo T-Shirt
- 2026 Daytona 500 Patriotic Event Hat
- NASCAR Fan Cap Subscription
Sources: NASCAR official race results and loop data for all 36 2026 points races; Coca-Cola 600 details via Motorsport.com and racing-reference.info; contract extension via RACER.
