VIDEO: Zane Smith goes for overtime tumble at Kansas
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Zane Smith went for one of the wildest rides in recent memory in overtime of the NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Kansas Speedway.
Smith had a great run in Sunday’s race after showing strong speed in practice Saturday. In fact, finished ninth in the first stage and earned two bonus points.
Although he fell outside of the top 10, he showed himself in the top 10 and never really dropped below 16th — where he was running coming into turn three in overtime.
Then, John Hunter Nemechek made contact with Smith’s left-rear quarter panel and sent him into the wall. Nemechek squeezed him into the wall, causing Smith to climb the wall and flip.
Smith exited the car under his own power — more angry than injured.
“It was a wild ride, no doubt. Before I knew it, I had a decent restart going and I just get wrecked by the 42… Just drives through. I was just mad because we had a decent day going and flipping like that made me even more mad,” Smith told USA. “We had been racing inside the top 10 all day and it’s a shame it had to end that way.”
Smith has four top-10 finishes this season, including a third-place effort at Bristol Motor Speedway in September. His average finish is 20.9, 2.3 positions better than what he did in 2024.
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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