Zane Smith Finishes 34th at Pocono Raceway

Wins Stage 1 and Stage 2 Before Accident Ends Day

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While the regular season title may be out of reach for Zane Smith and the Front Row Motorsports (FRM) NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series team, Smith still took the Birch Gold Group Ford F-150 to two stage wins on Saturday at the Pocono (Pa.) Raceway to keep him second in the playoff standings.

Smith, who started sixth, blasted to the lead early in the 60-lap race that acts like a sprint. With stages broken into two 15-lap sprints before a 30-lap run to the end, the Birch Gold Group No. 38 team elected not to pit in Stage 1 or 2. Smith used his talent to win both stages and prove that his Ford was one to beat.

The team then took four tires and fuel before restarting 18th in the final stage. It was then the 38 was involved in a multi-truck accident that sent the truck into flames. Smith pulled to the side of the track and escaped unharmed, but with a 34th-place finish.

Smith used the two playoff points to stay second in the playoff standings with one regular season race left.

Zane Smith, Driver No. 38 Birch Gold Group Ford F-150:

"I don’t really know who wrecked in front of me. It was obviously just a matter of time with those weapons, but it’s just unfortunate. I got hit right into it and it just caught on fire. Our Birch Gold Group Ford was really fast. We won both stages, so fortunately we had that. It’s just a bummer we got put back there with those guys where we don’t belong.”

THE STRATEGY WAS TO GO FOR STAGE POINTS AND PLAYOFF POINTS? “Yeah, unfortunately this race is really weird. It makes no sense to me why the ARCA race is supposed to be longer than the Truck race, so you pit once and you decide when that’s gonna be – and once you get back there in dirty air it’s near impossible to pass, especially with all the squirrels we have in this series. It’s just a bummer. Fortunately, I did get those two playoff points, so that’s the positive for today. We had a fast truck, just nothing to show for it.”

The team next races Saturday, July 29 at the Richmond Raceway. The race is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.