Zane Smith and the No. 38 Wellcare Ford Team Talladega Competition Notes

TEAM AND RACE NOTES:

Zane Smith will make his return to the No. 38 Wellcare Ford Mustang this weekend. Smith will be making his second start with the No. 38 NASCAR Cup Series team. He’s also making his second speedway start with Front Row Motorsports (FRM) after finishing 13th in the Daytona 500 in the No. 36 Wellcare Ford Mustang.

Smith will qualify on Saturday before getting right into the pack and drafting in Sunday’s 500-miler on FOX at 3:00 p.m. ET.

COMPETITION NOTES: 

The No. 38 Ford team is 25th in owner points heading into the weekend. The team is trying to track down the Spire Motorsports No. 7 team and the 23XI No. 23 team for it’s next positions. A good result on Sunday can close the gap.

Smith will be making his NASCAR Cup Series debut at Talladega, but has three starts at the track in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. He also has one start and win in the ARCA Menards Series at Talladega.

CREW CHIEF RYAN BERGENTY:

“We come into Talladega with a lot of momentum with our team. We know Zane can come in and continue our success. Talladega is like Daytona, you have to be at the right place at the right time. Zane did a really nice job doing that at Daytona. We just need to give him a good car again on Sunday and let the race play out.”

DRIVER ZANE SMITH:

“I’ve seen the success that Todd is having with this team this year. The have stepped up and have had really good results. I’m just trying to come in and keep that momentum going for the team. I have a little bit more experience after Daytona. That will help.

“It’s great to have Wellcare on the car again. I can’t do this without them this season.”