Front Row NASCAR Cup lineup set to stay the same for 2026
Zane Smith, Todd Gilliland and Noah Gragson are all set to return to Front Row Motorsports’ NASCAR Cup Series team in 2026.
On a social media post about Front Row signing Smith to a multi-year contract extension, someone left a comment, asking, “Does that mean the driver lineup for Cup stays the same?” The team stated, “Yes, the Big 3 are here to stay.”
Zane Smith has stood out at Front Row this season with five top-10 finishes, an average finish of 20.7 and 22 laps led – all career-high marks for him.
Although many may remember Smith for his wild flip at Kansas in September, he has had standout runs in the Bristol Night Race (third), Michigan (seventh), Phoenix in March (ninth) and Homestead-Miami (11th), in particular.
Todd Gilliland has been picking up the pace late in the season, notably at Talladega in the fall when he led 11 laps and finished a Cup career-best second-place.
Gilliland has four top-10 finishes, matching his total in each of the last two seasons. He also has an average finish of 21.1, just slightly off of 20.9 in 2024.
Gragson has also had a tough year, sitting 34th in driver points at the time of the announcement. However, he has had three top-10 finishes, including a fourth-place finish at Talladega in the spring.
Front Row is still locked into a lawsuit against NASCAR with co-plaintiff 23XI Racing. The parties met with NASCAR and the judge in the case to try and come to a settlement before a Dec. 1 trial start — but no settlement was reached.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com