NASCAR Cup Teammates Todd Gilliland, Zane Smith Take Cut-throat to Different Level

• Last year, Zane Smith drove his Front Row Motorsports Ford to the Truck series title.

• Todd Gilliland competed full time for the organization in NASCAR’s Cup Series with teammate Michael McDowell.

• This year, Smith and Gilliland are sharing a Cup Series ride.

Those involved in racing know the sport is often a cut-throat business, but it’s not until two friends are vying for the same ride that the often-overlooked side of NASCAR becomes reality.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Zane Smith and third-generation driver Todd Gilliland grew up racing each other in NASCAR’s K&N, ARCA, Truck and Xfinity series. They became such close friends during those years that Smith participated in Gilliland’s wedding.

Last year, Smith drove his Front Row Motorsports Ford to the Truck series title while Gilliland competed full time for the organization in NASCAR’s Cup Series with teammate Michael McDowell. Gilliland expected to continue full time in the Cup Series with Front Row in 2023, but then during the off-season he was told that wouldn’t be the case. That he would share the ride with Smith in the Cup Series while the California native defended his Truck series title.

At the time, Gilliland described it as “disappointing” and “shocking.”

In this season’s first 14 Cup races, Smith has competed in four Cup races for Front Row with his best finish being 10th in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Gilliland has produced three top-10 finishes for Front Row with eighth in the Bristol Dirt race being his best performance this season.

Gilliland also has competed in two races for car owner Rick Ware, while Smith has driven in one event for him. Neither driver knows his plans for 2024, but they agree that counting McDowell, there are three drivers looking at two available Cup rides with Front Row Motorsports.

“That’s the worst thing about our job is we all live the same life and we kind of all hang out with each other,” says the 23-year-old Smith, who describes Gilliland as a “great friend.”

“When it’s time to get to Cup there’s only so many seats, and when you hang out with people that are winning races, you guys are probably both gonna end up there or have a shot to one day. Unfortunately, our situation has kind of fallen in that boat, but we try to handle it the best we can. I didn’t intend on it being this way. It’s tough for everyone on the (No.) 38 team to share two drivers, especially with a rookie crew chief. It’s not only hard on Todd, I think it’s hard on that whole group.”

The dilemma in which Smith and Gilliland, 23, find themselves is the reason the competitors who laid the sport’s foundation never became close friends with one another. It was a situation they never wanted to concern themselves with if they were vying for a ride or racing for a victory.

When the drivers first started staying in motor coaches at the track, seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt didn’t park his motor coach with the others at Talladega. Seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty also never had a friendship with a fellow competitor when he was racing. Before corporate America’s entrance into the sport, drivers normally received 40% of their winnings and 60% went to the owners.

“It’s really cutthroat and if you belong, you belong,” Smith said about Cup racing. “I knew it, and you at least hear about it, but it’s a whole other thing to experience it.

“It’s a very odd time in the sport. There are a lot of people reaching the end of their road on the Cup side, so there’s a lot of young drivers that are trying to fill those seats, so that’s why I think you see a lot of aggressive racing.”

Gilliland agrees with Smith that it’s a “tough business.”

“It’s hard to be friends with people that you’re competing against every single week,” Gilliland said. “I’ve even run into it with Harrison Burton. You’re bound to have stuff happen, whether it’s on the race track or stuff like this. At times, you just have to separate the life aspect of it and work, but it is tough.”

Both men believe they belong at the Cup level.

“I can feel confident right now that I’m happy with what I’ve done,” Gilliland said. “I feel like I’ve put in work, and we’ve gotten the right people around us. If it ended right now, I’d have no regrets. If I have a ride or if I don’t, I feel like I’ve done everything I can this year.”