Zane Smith scored his first top-five finish of the season at Bristol Motor Speedway when he crossed the line third behind Christopher Bell and Brad Keselowski. This continued a trend where Smith has delivered in tire management races.
Videos by FanBuzz
The California native gained considerable knowledge about tire wear during his days racing in grassroots series, and he has used this to secure solid finishes this season at Martinsville Speedway (16th), North Wilkesboro Speedway (sixth in the All-Star Open), Richmond Raceway (11th), and Darlington Raceway (12th and 13th).
When tires wear at a greater rate, Smith tends to perform better.
"This past weekend that brought back so many memories of Super Late Model days, where you just couldn't always bolt on a set of tires," Smith said in response to a question from FanBuzz.
"We were, at the end of the day, going through them fast, but it was all just about saving and managing and managing your track position and then it came down to your crew chief telling you when he wanted to pit, or when you were getting close to your number.
Photo credit: Nigel Kinrade Photography
"And he would kind of turn the ball over to me and say, 'Hey, this is on you now on how long you think you can last here on this set?'"
Having some control of tire decisions pleases Smith, who scored eight stage points at Bristol Motor Speedway. It gives him an opportunity to see the bigger picture and put himself in the shoes of a crew chief.
Some decisions are harder considering that he can only see what is happening in his immediate vicinity. He can see another driver fall off the pace and head to pit road, but he doesn't have the data explaining when that driver made his last pit stop.
Smith still appreciates the challenge, especially when he can compare his tire management to champions and veterans of the sport.
"One example was Joey (Logano) and I, I was the leader at that time and he was second and I got told like, 'Hey, we need five more,' and I think I ran at least 10 (laps) and I'm like, 'How long do you want me to go,'" Smith said.
"'I think I can get at least maybe eight more good ones,' and he let me run three and then called me down."
Of course, Smith didn't expect to worry about tire management when he took the green flag on Saturday evening. He, like many other Cup drivers in the field, expected virtually no tire wear based on a practice session the previous day.
The race did not play out as they expected. Tires began to wear at a significant rate, to the point that drivers started to pit within the first 30 laps. This completely flipped the race strategy and played into Smith's experience.
"That first run I didn't feel any of those cords coming and all of a sudden it happened, and then after that I just went into that mode of trying to manage and save," Smith said.
"And I felt my team did a great job of painting a picture for me too about how this race is gonna play out and if you save here where it's gonna benefit you. It worked out for us, but I really enjoyed it.
"That was probably one of the most fun Bristol races I've ever had, regardless of if we had a really good finish or not."
The good news for Smith is that he has more tire management in his future. Goodyear will bring a new tire compound to New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend, one that it has used in multiple short track races this season.
If past races serve as any indication, his Late Model background will put him in the mix at the New England track.
