Noah Gragson and Zane Smith take a fishing trip to Mexico amid NASCAR break

Noah Gragson shared a look into his off-track downtime with his Front Row Motorsports teammate Zane Smith during the NASCAR Cup Series break, posting a photo that shows the two enjoying a fishing trip in Mexico. The photo, taken aboard what appears to be a yacht, shows Gragson and Smith holding bottles of Pacifico beer.

The duo can be seen relaxing under the sun. Gragson also tagged Smith and added the location: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

“Drinking Pacifico with my Pacific bro,” Gragson captioned the post.

Noah Gragson's story on Instagram with teammate Zane Smith. Source: Instagram, @noahgragson

The friendship between Noah Gragson, Zane Smith, and their teammate Todd Gilliland goes back long before they drove for the same NASCAR team. All three grew up racing on the West Coast, crossing paths in various junior racing series. Over the years, they raced against each other in ARCA, Trucks, and Xfinity before reuniting under Front Row Motorsports for the 2025 Cup Series season.

As reported by NASCAR.com, their friendship is genuine, built on shared experiences, mutual respect, and long-time familiarity with one another. Gragson and Smith had been teammates at one point in the past. Gragson, 26, is technically the oldest among the trio, with Smith at 25 and Gilliland at 24. Despite their age difference being minimal, it’s Gragson who has often taken the role of veteran among them.

At the recent Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, the team had mixed results. Gragson started 31st and finished 23rd, adapting his race strategy mid-race to cope with unexpected track conditions. Zane Smith, who started 18th, finished 27th after a gamble on pit strategy didn’t go his way. Todd Gilliland had the toughest run, finishing 35th due to a fuel issue late in the race.

---

Rural King partners with Noah Gragson for three races in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series

Ahead of the Bristol race, Noah Gragson and Front Row Motorsports revealed a new sponsor. On April 9, the team announced that Rural King would be the primary sponsor of Gragson’s No. 4 Ford Mustang Dark Horse in three Cup Series events this year, starting with the Food City 500 at Bristol.

This makes it Rural King’s first major partnership in NASCAR. The company, which calls itself “America’s Farm and Home Store,” has committed to a visible presence on Gragson’s car with its red and white branding. Rural King will also be the primary sponsor at Talladega Superspeedway on April 27 and North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 18.

Steve Barbarick, president and CEO of Rural King, spoke about the partnership in a team press release.

“Our partnership with Front Row Motorsports and NASCAR is an exciting new chapter for Rural King. Many of our customers—and our associates—are loyal NASCAR fans, and this is a great way to connect through something they feel passionate about. With a Rural King store just down the road in Bristol, this race feels especially meaningful to us. We’re proud to see our brand on the car and can’t wait to cheer on Noah Gragson as he hits the track representing our community,” he said (via Jayski.com).

Gragson, too, expressed appreciation for the support, aligning with the company’s values of community and hard work. This deal brings added visibility not only to Rural King, but to Gragson himself.

In addition to car branding, the partnership includes logo placements on driver gear and pit boxes, exclusive in-store promotions, social media content, and merchandise giveaways at select Rural King locations.