By: Matt Courson, Staff Writer
Zane Smith scored his best career finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, finishing fifth in Sunday’s CircuitCity.com 250 at Iowa Speedway.
Smith, who is currently driving part-time in the No. 8 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, saw his first top-five result in his fifth series start.
“I thought [the race] went pretty well,” Smith said. “It was really fun running up there with the same guys that are up there every single weekend, so for that, it was super cool.”
Also scoring a career-high qualifying effort of third, Smith was thrilled to bring one home during a limited opportunity.
“I only get a limited amount of starts and I really don’t race much during the year,” he said. “So, to run up front with those guys is big for me and big for all these guys. It gives them a lot of momentum and I’m lucky I get Chicago next, so I get another [race] back-to-back. Hopefully
The 20-year old said that all he could do to prepare for this race was to watch
“Talk to Justin and watched some film, there’s not much I can do,” he said. “A lot of these guys race every single weekend and they’re always busy. And not me, I’m a dog guy, I don’t have anything going on. I wish I could race every weekend; I feel like I’d be a lot better.”
Despite the top finish, Iowa has not always been one of Smith’s best tracks. With the series returning in just over a month, the JR Motorsports driver hopes to capitalize on
“I haven’t really run that good here later on in a race, so this is definitely the best time I’ve ever had here,” he said. “The biggest thing I figured out is what I need at the end of the race.”
The California-native is hopeful about the remaining races on his schedule with JR Motorsports.
“I want to go back to Dover, I feel like I ran pretty well at Dover,” he said. “I get to come back here, which is super cool. I’m really pumped for the rest of them, I ran pretty well at Chicago as well. I like my next upcoming tracks.”