Smith v. Smith: Chandler’s speeding penalty puts Zane in the 500
DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. — No prior practice bit Chandler Smith in his Bluegreen Vacations Duel as his speeding penalty put Zane Smith in the Daytona 500.
Chandler Smith was penalized on Lap 22, along with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. The Duel ran caution-free and ultimately relegated Stenhouse and Smith to finish 20th and 21st – second-to-last and last – in the Duel.
The poor finish ended a short, but tough, Speedweek for Smith. During qualifying Wednesday, he suffered and issue but then mustered a lap of 51.422 seconds that only put him last among the 41 drivers that posted a lap.
While Zane Smith slotted in the 29th-quickest qualifying lap Wednesday, he ran a quiet Duel and finished 9th to get into his first Daytona 500.
Smith pitted on Lap 32 with the rest of the Ford drivers, then hung around and earned a solid Duel finish.
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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