Zane Smith’s 'proud' wife McCall heaps praise on husband's 'fight and grind' following penultimate race for Spire

McCall Smith, Zane Smith’s wife, expressed her support for her husband amid his tough rookie campaign. In a reposted Instagram post by Spire Motorsports thanking Smith, McCall shared how proud she was of him as the driver was left without a seat for 2025.

Zane Smith is a 25-year-old professional stock car racing driver who drove the No. 71 Chevrolet Camaro for Spire Motorsports. He married McCall in January this year after dating for about six years. She also previously took to Instagram to wish him a strong finish before the season finale at Phoenix Raceway.

However, Smith wasn’t able to finish the race following a race-ending incident on lap 250 due to a brake failure.

Regardless, Spire Motorsports dedicated a post for the driver for ‘giving the No. 71 a debut run.’ McCall Smith reposted and wrote:

“So proud of him for never giving up. Even when times were so tough. Love his fight and grind.”

McCall Smith's Instagram story - Source: @mccallkelli on Instagram

Zane Smith started his rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series with Spire Motorsports through a loan deal from Trackhouse Racing. This year, Smith only had two top-5 finishes, with the best result coming at Nashville Superspeedway with a P2 finish. He also bagged four top-10 finishes.

One of the reasons why Trackhouse Racing loaned him was because the team only had two charters, fielding Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez. However, the team decided to drop him in August and later announced Shane van Gisbergen as its third driver for the 2025 season.

Zane Smith drove the No. 71 Chevy - Source: Imagn

While Smith has yet to announce his plans for 2025, now ex-teammate and fellow rookie Carson Hocevar won the NASCAR Rookie of the Year award. Hocevar is also signed with Spire Motorsports through next season.

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Zane Smith reflected on the final race with Spire Motorsports at Phoenix

During the season finale at Phoenix Raceway, Zane Smith brought out the yellow following a race-ending crash on lap 250. In a post-race interview, the No. 71 driver said the car experienced a brake failure, spoiling his final race with the team heading into the off-season.

Per Frontstretch on X (formerly Twitter), Smith shared:

“Just completely lost brakes… just went to the floor, unfortunately just backed in, hit driver’s side so end of our day but started out pretty rough, got a good bit better and just kind of fight for the lucky dog spot.”

When asked about his plans for next year, the 2022 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champ said before leaving.

“Not sure.”

With the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevy set for Michael McDowell, Zane Smith has to explore his options for 2025. However, the youngster is rumored to land the third seat at Front Row Motorsports, which was acquired from the discontinued Stewart-Haas Racing team.

While awaiting further announcements, FRM is dealing with an antitrust legal battle against NASCAR. The court recently denied the preliminary injunction it filed along with 23XI Racing, leaving the two teams without guaranteed race entries and payouts for the upcoming season.