In 2025, Zane Smith overcame many struggles. While his Cup Series team, Front Row Motorsports, was fighting the NASCAR lawsuit and competed without charters, he made sure to turn out decent Cup race finishes. His 5 top tens and 1 top five while wheeling the No. 38 Ford surely have more scope, but the resilience he has displayed so far is remarkable. And the background for Smith’s strong attitude lies in his parents.
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Who are Zane Smith’s parents?
Behind all his racing glamor lies Smith’s upbringing under his father, Mike Smith’s supervision. Mike ran a race shop and a professional off-road racing team in Huntington Beach. Zane Smith‘s mother, Debbie, was reportedly a middle-school lunch lady.
Smith attended Spring View Middle School in Huntington Beach through eighth grade. But by the time he was 14, he was spending so much time racing in the North Carolina area that he moved there. He lived first in a family motor home and then in a small house his parents bought in Maiden, N.C. Debbie usually stayed in this house with her son, but not always – as Zane learned to be self-sufficient by arranging transportation to and from the tracks and preparing his food.
How did Mike Smith and Debbie Smith meet?
There is no reliable information available on how Zane Smith’s parents met and sparked a journey of racing.
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What ethnicity are Zane Smith’s parents?
The ethnic background of either Zane Smith or his parents is not publicly disclosed. However, they hail from Huntington Beach, California.
Inside Zane Smith’s relationship with his parents
From when he began his racing career at a tender age of three, Zane Smith had his parents’ support every step of the way. From racing BMX bikes at age three, go-karts from ages six to twelve, entry-level stock cars as a teenager, to the 180-mph NASCAR Cup cars that he now drives, Zane has had his father by his side. Mike Smith observed his son’s competitive spirit early.
“Is it God-given ability? I don’t know,” Mike Smith said. “Why was Michael Jordan so good? Zane has great hand-eye coordination, good reaction times, the ability to process information quickly. And his determination to win has been big.”
This also allowed Roy Dehban, who runs Pro Am Racing in Riverside, and Tim Casey, owner of Brea-based La Paz Products, Inc., help fund Smith’s racing career with annual six-figure investments since Smith was 5 years old.
Zane Smith’s mother, Debbie, helped support his dreams by teaching him to be self-sufficient. When Zane was racing Legend and super late-model cars as a 15- and 16-year-old, he cooked his meals, maintained his fitness regime, and commuted to racetracks alone.
“It hit home, all the people who have invested in me and everything my family has sacrificed,” Zane Smith said after notching his first Truck win in 2020. “I don’t come from a wealthy family by any means. My mom is a middle-school lunch lady, and my dad runs an off-road race team. It’s really, really hard to make it in this sport legitimately off talent, and when you start getting an idea that you might actually make it, it’s pretty unreal.”
With the right support from his parents, Zane Smith has come a long way. Here is to more milestones and honoring his family’s hard work.
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