Zane Smith goes back-to-back at COTA
Front Row Motorsports’ Zane Smith continues to dominate the pack as he found Victory Lane again at the Circuit of The Americas last weekend, securing his second victory and third top-10 finish in 2023. Smith became the first repeat NASCAR winner at the famed road course and made the Front Row Motorsports team a perfect three-for-three in CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races at COTA, after taking the reins from Todd Gilliland (2021).
In impressive fashion, Hendrick Motorsports displayed their 1.5-mile package prowess by dominating the NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway finishing 1-2-3 with drivers William Byron, Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman, respectively. The Hendrick contingent managed to lead a combined 241 of the 271 laps completed (88.9%), with Byron scarfing up the lion’s share with 176 laps led out front.
Austin Hill was locked-in and focused last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and it paid off in a big way. In a race that that seemed to be in rookie Chandler Smith’s reach, Hill was able to pass him up as the cars approached the white flag and hold the lead through to the end.
This was Hill’s second victory of the season, his fourth in his Xfinity Series career and his first at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
NASCAR Cup Series two-time champion Kyle Busch made his first NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series start of the 2023 season last weekend at his home track of Las Vegas Motor Speedway and to no one’s surprise, gambled his way into Victory Lane.
If you thought Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain’s success last season was a fluke – think again. The Florida native is full throttle this season and following a dominate performance at Auto Club Speedway he now leads the NASCAR Cup Series point standings by one-point over Team Penske’s Joey Logano in second – this is the first time Chastain has held the series’ point standings lead in his career.
After some rain and snow postponed the NASCAR Xfinity Series Auto Club Speedway race from Saturday to Sunday, John Hunter Nemechek became the last winner on the two-mile circuit – a special moment as his father, Joe Nemechek, won the first NASCAR Cup Series pole in the history of Auto Club Speedway.
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series drivers and teams had last weekend off to recharge and regroup after an action-packed race in Daytona to open the 2023 season but this weekend they are back for the Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 Presented by Westgate Resorts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this Friday, March 3 at 9 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
With the announcement that this weekend’s Pala Casino 400 (Feb. 26 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will be the last NASCAR Cup Series race on the 2-mile configuration, the anticipation for a spectacular final event is steadily growing. Planning continues for a proposed half-mile short track located on a portion of the speedway’s current property, but timing for commencement of that project remains uncertain making this weekend that much more special.
It seems that Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill has made himself very comfortable in Victory Lane at Daytona International Speedway as he just won his second consecutive season opener in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in a dramatic overtime finish.
Front Row Motorsports’ Zane Smith appears to still have his momentum from last season. After winning the season opener in Daytona in 2022 and eventually becoming the 2022 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champion, he found Victory Lane once again at Daytona to kick off his 2023 season.
