“Finally he may be getting his legit Cup Series break”: Influencer speaks out after FRM’s multi-million dollar success amid NASCAR’s big defeat

NASCAR influencer Eric Estepp assessed that Front Row Motorsports could pick Zane Smith as the driver for their third charter after the multi-million deal between FRM and Stewart-Haas Racing was finalized. Estepp also mentioned that this could be the breakthrough in Smith's Cup Series career.

Smith ran in the Cup Series with Spire Motorsports in 2024. A year before, he struck a multi-year deal with Trackhouse Racing and was racing with their backing. As such, he was expected to move up to Trackhouse in the future but they chose Shane van Gisbergen instead for the 2025 season. Meanwhile, Smith was let go of his contract, leaving him without a drive for the next Cup Series season.

However, all hopes were not lost as Front Row Motorsports finalized their deal with Stewart-Haas Racing; the latter ceased their operations at the end of the season. Three of their four Charters were up for sale, and FRM reportedly bought one in a multi-million deal. This deal was finalized shortly after they had a major win over NASCAR in the anti-trust lawsuit the team filed against the governing body along with 23XI Racing.

With the expansion of the team, they are expected to sign Smith for 2025. Eric Estepp feels that this would be a positive in his racing career.

"I'm anxiously awaiting their next announcement. Who is going to drive this third full-time Cup Series car? All signs point to Zane Smith, finally, Smith may be getting his legit Cup Series break," he said (at 3:40).

He further spoke about Smith's improvement in the 2024 season as he managed to pull in better finishes, averaging close to the Rookie of The Year Carson Hocevar.

"What I see on the racetrack is an extremely talented young driver," Estepp added (at 3:50) First half of his rookie year was a disaster, didn't let that get him down, second half of 2024 was pretty darn good he had an average finish around 18th, ran similarly to Rookie of the Year Carson Hocevar. Zane Smith figured it out second half of 2024. He's been in the Front Row system before so I hope he gets this chance. I think this could be a really strong long-term pairing."

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Front Row Motorsports finalizes third charter deal amid major step over NASCAR

23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports remained the only teams that did not sign the 2025 Charter Agreement citing revenue share and other issues. Despite the deadline from NASCAR, they refused to sign the agreement and subsequently filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the sport.

While this was a major step, it was feared that both teams would find it difficult to run as Chartered teams in 2025. However, their primary injunction was granted by the US Court which allowed them to run Charters in the 2025 season as well. This came around the same time as both teams were negotiating deals with Stewart-Haas Racing to purchase their Charters and expand their operations to three full-time cars.

With Front Row finalizing the deal first, it symbolizes a major win over NASCAR. The driver lineup is expected to be revealed in the foreseeable future.