TALLADEGA, AL - APRIL 26: Chris Buescher 17 RFK Racing Kroger/Jack Link s Ford and Carson Hocevar 77 Spire Motorsports Chili s Ride the Dente Chevrolet race side by side during the running of the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Jack Links 500 on April 26, 2026, at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, AL. Photo by Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire AUTO: APR 26 NASCAR Cup Series Jack Links 500 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon2604263646
TALLADEGA, AL - APRIL 26: Chris Buescher 17 RFK Racing Kroger/Jack Link s Ford and Carson Hocevar 77 Spire Motorsports Chili s Ride the Dente Chevrolet race side by side during the running of the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Jack Links 500 on April 26, 2026, at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, AL. Photo by Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire AUTO: APR 26 NASCAR Cup Series Jack Links 500 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon2604263646
Front Row Motorsports has not been one of the best NASCAR teams in recent times, as Bob Jenkins' team has barely managed a win. However, Zane Smith sparked conversation across NASCAR after his performance at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The driver delivered an unexpected assessment of his Front Row Motorsports car. His words suggest the Ford camp might be stronger than the standings indicate.
"Probably one of the best cars I've had with my time at FRM, and man it showed," Smith told Frontstrech after the Charlotte race. "But I don't know how many times I drove from the back to the front, back to the front. I'm just angry with myself, with the pit road deal. Obviously, we all fight for clean air, and they drive a whole lot better up there, but man, 50.01 in the final section will do it."
Smith had an eventful day at the Coca-Cola 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. The FRM star began his day in 19th place, but fell back to 22nd place at the end of Stage 1. In Stage 2, Smith fell further back to 24th place.
"And so, I guess just trying too hard, but with that said, man, I had a fun weekend, and it felt like an eternity with everything with Kyle. Wish I was able to win and do the pow and whatnot, but all in all, really cool for Aarons and everyone at FRM and certainly something to build on," Smith further added.
After two underwhelming stages, Zane Smith made a resounding comeback in the third stage, as he finished in 15th place. The No. 38 driver finished the race 10th, taking home his fourth top 10 of the season.
After a quite dismal start to the season, Ford cars have finally started to show progress, and this was not just for Front Row Motorsports, but also for Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing.
NASCAR experts Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer point out Ford resurgence
NASCAR experts Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer recently discussed Ford's resurgence coming into the 2026 season. The American OEM remains the only team with one victory in 13 races, whereas Toyota picked 7, followed by Chevrolet's 5.
"We’re starting to see a little bit of a resurgence out of the Ford camp, and it’s not with Penske," Kevin Harvick said recently. However, Bowyer immediately responded with, "Not Penske, yeah. You know, it’s RFK."
In recent times, Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher of RFK Racing showed impeccable results, such as two Top 10s in Kansas, and more impressive results at Darlington, Watkins Glen and Dover.
Compared to them, Team Penske seemed to be lagging behind their Ford rivals. Except for Ryan Blaney, neither of the two Penske drivers, Joey Logano and Austin Cindric, has been able to pull off a notable performance so far.
Read more at Daytona Racing Digest!
Written by
Sabyasachi Biswas
Edited by
Kaamna Dwivedi