Currently P5 in the driver standings, Zane Smith is enjoying a good start to the 2026 season with Front Row Motorsports. After earning his first stage victory at the Daytona 500, where he finished 6th, Smith complemented it with an impressive P7 finish at Atlanta. However, his race was not as smooth as it seemed. In a recent interview, he broke down the gamble that didn’t work for him in the final moments.

Embarrassing close call with tire change for Zane Smith

In the final few laps of the race, Zane Smith was eagerly trying to go for the lead. After the final round of pit stops, he was sitting in P12 and had a fair shot at winning. In order to help his race, he took on two right-side tires, but that ended up being a bad call.

“Super weird, but we took the right-side tires to get the lead. I think we were 12th as well. And with that going, I got completely wrecked on the straightaway. I thought I was about to get a push from 12 or 6. And they were nowhere near me, so this thing is a complete handful down the straightaway.”

Smith admits that the move didn’t play properly. He gambled on the fact that his left-side tires had enough grip to get him to the front. Although, as it turns out, the imbalance between the grips made him lose control as soon as he tried to push the car forward.

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Still, in his eyes, there was some sort of external factor that played a part in the debacle. Smith blames it on a stray rock, calling out Atlanta’s uncertainty.

“I sound like an idiot saying that I don’t lose the left rear after taking right-side tires, but in it being a loose left rear, I think a little rock got caught in it, and it just ends up separating.

“So, Atlanta’s already sketchy as it is. Only the loss of the left rear is even more of a handful. I was fortunate like I said to catch that caution and stay in the fight till the end.”

As of now, Smith is among the drivers who have made an early breakout in the Cup Series. While this early success is promising, the initial standings are not always indicative of a driver’s performance over the entire season. Still, Smith is looking forward to benefiting from his momentum. Front Row Motorsports runs well on superspeedways, and Smith is more than happy to use that to his advantage.

Moving on to the upcoming race, let’s have a look at the predictions for the Circuit of the Americas.

NASCAR Cup Series at COTA Predictions

Tyler Reddick is on fire this year. He is starting on pole at COTA after back-to-back success this year. Reddick is also among the previous winners at this track, so his pole position puts him at a considerable advantage. However, he has strong competition behind him in the form of Ross Chastain.

Chastain, who won COTA in 2022, is going to start the race right behind Tyler Reddick in P2. His speed was amazing during the qualifying session, and he looks to capitalize on that by emulating his teammate’s tactics from Saturday’s O’Reilly race. Reddick is not as confident considering the presence of Shane van Gisbergen. However, the Kiwi is starting the race in P13.

But still, it wouldn’t be surprising if SVG ends up leading the race within a few laps and terrorizes the grid again. He finally triumphed over the only road course on Saturday that he had not won previously. With that momentum, he’d still want to capitalize on his race-winning techniques.

The top 10 drivers from the starting grid also include the likes of AJ Allmendinger, Christopher Bell, and William Byron. Both Allmendinger and Bell are among the best road-course drivers on the grid. Byron won the race in 2024, giving him some kind of edge over the others.

The starting grid is a good advantage in the initial stages. Although the victor will be decided after three stages, tire management and staying out of penalties are going to be the best strategies for this weekend. Not to mention the tire packs, which will severely impact any driver’s race if they end up making a mistake in the corners.