Zane Smith Returns to the No. 91 for Shot at First Pocono Victory
Venue: Pocono Raceway
Event: CRC Brakleen 175
Date: July 12
Location: Long Pond, PA
Track Description: 2.5-mile tri oval
Distance: 70 laps, 175 miles (5:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, Motor Racing Network)
The Champ is Back … The 2022 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champion, Zane Smith, returns to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing at Pocono Raceway for his fifth start of the season. Smith has been a threat in his four prior starts with the MHR team and looks to close out his five-race campaign by parking the No. 91 Speedy Cash Chevrolet Silverado RST in victory lane for the first time at the “Tricky Triangle”.
On the Door Step … Smith has been on the doorstep to victory lane in recent weeks. In his last NCTS outing with MHR at Kansas Speedway in May, he led 29 laps en route to a second-place finish. He was also within sight of his first career NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) win two weeks ago. The NCS Rookie of the Year contender finished second at Nashville Speedway (NSS) in a thrilling finish with five overtime restarts. Smith and crew chief Kevin Bellicourt are hoping for another exhilarating outcome in the Pocono Mountains on Friday and break into victory lane after their runner-up effort at Kansas. Smith has one top-10 finish in four prior appearances at the “Tricky Triangle” and Friday’s return to the NCTS is a perfect opportunity for the former champ to cash in.
Season to Date … The No. 91 team currently resides 12th in the NCTS owners’ championship standings with three races remaining in the regular season. Smith enters Pocono just 17 points behind the provisional cut line for the final playoff position. Smith, Jack Wood, and Vicente Salas have combined for three top-five’s, four top-10’s, and six top-15 finishes in 13 races. Smith has two podium finishes, including a season-high second at Kansas. The team’s third-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway was part of three MHR trucks finishing inside the top five, an accomplishment that the organization duplicated at NSS one race ago.
Tune In … Coverage from Pocono kicks off on FOX Sports 2 on Friday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. ET with practice and qualifying. Race coverage switches to FOX Sports 1 for the green flag at 5:30 p.m. ET. Stay connected with the No. 91 Speedy Cash team by following @BMR_NASCAR on Twitter, @bmrnascar on Instagram, and Bill McAnally Racing on Facebook.
Zane Smith Quote:
On returning to MHR for his fifth start at Pocono:
“It’s been fun to come back and race the trucks with MHR and these guys on the No. 91 team. All four teams have been really fast this year and that has me excited for Friday. I think we’ll have a great shot to put our Speedy Cash Chevrolet up front. It was really impressive to see the whole team get a one-two finish at Nashville, so we’d like to do that again this week at Pocono. We’ve had a lot of speed in our Chevrolets the first four races that I’ve run with them this year, so hopefully we’ll have more of the same and battle our teammates for a win.”