Zane Smith breaks through for the 2022 NASCAR Truck Series championship title on Friday in the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix Raceway.

AVONDALE, Ariz. – After two frustrating runner-up finishes in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship, Zane Smith finally won his first title in a two-lap overtime shootout.

Zane Smith Breaks Through for the 2022 NASCAR Truck Series Championship Title

Holding off defending champion Ben Rhodes by .236 seconds at the end of a wild final two laps of Friday night’s Lucas Oil 150, Smith put it succinctly after a celebratory burnout at Phoenix Raceway.

“The third time’s the charm,” exulted an emotional Smith, who said he was crying throughout the final lap after wresting the lead from Rhodes one circuit earlier. 

For the final restart, Smith chose to line up behind Rhodes, rather than to his outside. That enabled Smith to shortcut the backstretch dogleg and pull even with Rhodes to the inside. From that position, he was able to edge ahead of eventual third-place finisher Chandler Smith to the outside.

“I’m going to win this,” Zane Smith said of his mind-set in overtime. “There was no other option. I was either backing it in the fence wrecking, or I was leaving tonight with a championship trophy. There were no other options, and when I saw the 18 (Chandler Smith) get underneath me I was worried that I got him too loose underneath me.  

“Fortunately, he stayed off of me. I have a lot of respect for all three of (the other title competitors). It’s pretty impressive for some of the racing we’ve seen lately for us three to go at it that hard and that clean.”

Defending Champion, Ben Rhodes Finishes Second

Under caution for Hailie Deegan’s hard contact with the third turn wall on lap 134, Rhodes opted for right-side tires only, while the other three Championship 4 drivers—Zane Smith, Chandler Smith, and Ty Majeski—took fresh rubber on all four corners.

Rhodes restarted third behind Stewart Friesen and Carson Hocevar on lap 141 and charged past Friesen into the lead on lap 144. Rhodes stayed out front with the other Championship 4 drivers in tow until Majeski lost control of his No. 66 Toyota as he tried to move to the inside of Zane Smith.

The subsequent overtime restart enabled the race winner to capitalize on his tire advantage. Rhodes got to Zane Smith’s bumper in the final corner and crossed the finish line less than a truck length behind. Chandler Smith was third, 0.259 seconds back of the winner.

“I don’t know, two tires versus four, that was the name of the game,” Rhodes said. “We didn’t have the pace all night that we needed to be up there and repeat so it was a great heads-up call by my crew chief (Rich Lushes). Ultimately, we just didn’t need that last caution. I think we could have held them off for the final few laps. I was giving him (Zane Smith) all the dirty air he could handle. I think we were going to be fine until that caution got us. 

“On that last restart, I tried to get a jump, but two tires versus four, I just didn’t have the grip I needed. I did the best I could and threw a move on him but didn’t have enough grip to make it stick… We just need to go back and do our homework, and second is not fun. I’m going to mope my way back to Kentucky (his home state).”

Zane Smith Makes it a Clean Sweep

The victory was Smith’s fourth of the season, and it was a clean sweep. Smith earned the pole position in Friday’s time trials and won both stages before claiming the victory and the series title.

He’ll return to Front Row Motorsports next season, where he’ll defend his championship and compete in selected NASCAR Cup Series races, starting with the Daytona 500.

The Best of the Rest

John Hunter Nemechek ran fourth on Friday night, followed by Friesen. Majeski came home 20th after the spin that sent the race into overtime.

                1. (1)  Zane Smith (P), Ford, 154.

                2. (6)  Ben Rhodes (P), Toyota, 154.

                3. (12)  Chandler Smith (P), Toyota, 154.

                4. (10)  John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 154.

                5. (5)  Stewart Friesen, Toyota, 154.

                6. (13)  Grant Enfinger, Chevrolet, 154.

                7. (3)  Corey Heim #, Toyota, 154.

                8. (4)  Tanner Gray, Ford, 154.

                9. (15)  Kaden Honeycutt, Toyota, 154.

                10. (22)  Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 154.

                11. (23)  Derek Kraus, Chevrolet, 154.

                12. (9)  Matt Crafton, Toyota, 154.

                13. (2)  Layne Riggs, Toyota, 154.

                14. (24)  Tyler Ankrum, Toyota, 154.

                15. (20)  Colby Howard, Chevrolet, 154.

                16. (17)  Jake Garcia, Chevrolet, 154.

                17. (21)  Taylor Gray, Ford, 154.

                18. (32)  Lawless Alan #, Chevrolet, 154.

                19. (19)  Chase Purdy, Toyota, 154.

                20. (8)  Ty Majeski (P), Toyota, 154.

                21. (26)  Dean Thompson #, Chevrolet, 154.

                22. (11)  Matt DiBenedetto, Chevrolet, 153.

                23. (31)  Tyler Hill, Toyota, 152.

                24. (30)  Austin Wayne Self, Chevrolet, 152.

                25. (25)  Blaine Perkins #, Chevrolet, 152.

                26. (28)  Chris Hacker, Toyota, 152.

                27. (29)  Timmy Hill, Toyota, 152.

                28. (27)  Johnny Sauter, Chevrolet, 152.

                29. (16)  Jack Wood #, Chevrolet, 151.

                30. (7)  Christian Eckes, Toyota, 151.

                31. (14)  Hailie Deegan, Ford, Accident, 133.

                32. (18)  Rajah Caruth, Chevrolet, Accident, 106.

                33. (33)  Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, Too Slow, 63.

                34. (34)  Keith McGee, Chevrolet, DVP, 15.

                35. (35)  Armani Williams, Chevrolet, Accident, 6.

The Lucas Oil 150 Stats

Average Speed of Race Winner:  89.003 mph.

Time of Race:  One Hr, 43 Mins, 49 Secs. The Margin of Victory:  0.236 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  Seven for 41 laps.

Lead Changes:  15 among seven drivers.

Lap Leaders:   Z. Smith (P) 1;L. Riggs 2-6;Z. Smith (P) 7-48;J. Nemechek 49;C. Heim # 50-54;J. Nemechek 55-86;Z. Smith (P) 87-93;J. Nemechek 94-97;C. Smith (P) 98-105;J. Nemechek 106-111;Z. Smith (P) 112-136;J. Nemechek 137;S. Friesen 138-143;B. Rhodes (P) 144-151;C. Smith (P) 152;Z. Smith (P) 153-154.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Zane Smith (P) five times for 77 laps; John Hunter Nemechek five times for 44 laps; Chandler Smith (P) two times for nine laps; Ben Rhodes (P) one time for eight laps; Stewart Friesen one time for six laps; Layne Riggs one time for five laps; Corey Heim # one time for five laps.

Stage 1 Top Ten: 38,51,52,4,88,99,23,18,98,62

Stage 2 Top Ten: 38,4,18,51,66,88,23,52,17,99