Concord, North Carolina (August 29, 2016) – Seventeen year-old Zane Smith becomes the latest young racing prospect to join Venturini Motorsports’ (VMS) stable of drivers in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards.
A native of Huntington Beach, California, Smith will make his ARCA Series debut driving the No.15 Icon Vehicle Dynamics Toyota in the Crosley 150 at Kentucky Speedway on September 23.
Considered by many as one of the top driver prospects in the country, Smith gained national recognition in 2015 when we won the overall Super Late Model championship at the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway (FL). During his breakout season the talented teen recorded three PASS South Wins and a CARS Super Late Model Tour win. Capping off a successful 2015 season, Smith finished second at the prestigious Snowball Derby – runner up to this year’s current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series leading Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender, Chase Elliott.
“What an amazing opportunity,” says Smith. “Racing at Kentucky on a mile and a half track is going to be sweet. I tested at Daytona earlier in the year but this will be my first time racing at this level. I’ve worked hard to get to this point in my career and looking forward to the new experience. I’ve pretty much raced my entire life – this is the next step – I hope it continues forever.”
“Breaking into the series with Venturini Motorsports is a huge deal for me. They’re one of the best in the series and have given a lot of guys before me their first shot. I’m excited to be a part of the team and can’t wait to see what we can do together at Kentucky,” added Smith.
During a successful career, spanning over three-quarters of his life, Smith broke into competitive racing in BMX (Earned 2nd place in BMX World Championships) and by the age of five was racing Karts. Winning multiple national Karting Championships, including five Kart Grand National Championships in a row, Smith is the only non-professional driver to receive the Lake Speed Award of Excellence in Karting.
Moving up to Legends Car Racing at age 12, Smith won 15 races in the Young Lions Division before moving onto the PRO Legend Division where he’d add over 60-wins. In 2015, Smith made 33 Super Late Model Starts earning 5 wins, 12 top-three, 16 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes. Sidelined recently due to an injury sustained while wakeboarding, Smith recently returned to the PASS South and CARS Tour where he’ll focus his efforts on select races.
VMS, known for their success developing young drivers in the ARCA Series, has recorded 41-team victories during their longstanding series involvement. Twenty-eight of those series victories have come since 2008 with six drivers going to victory lane in their first career ARCA start under the Venturini banner – Joey Logano ’08, Brennan Poole ’11, Alex Bowman ’11, Austin Theriault ’14, Todd Gilliland ’15 and Christopher Bell ’16.
Follow Zane Smith on Social Media @ZaneSmith77 (Twitter) ZaneSmithRacing (Facebook).
The ARCA Crosley 150 at Kentucky Speedway will air live on FOX SPORTS 2 on Saturday, September 23.
ABOUT VENTURINI MOTORSPORTS:
Venturini Motorsports (VMS), fielding cars for over 30-years in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, is one of the premier NASCAR driver development programs in the country. Multiple team championships and consistent on-track success, VMS has evolved into one of the most recognizable names in motorsports. Since 2007, VMS has assisted in the career development of notable NASCAR drivers such as Joey Logano, Erik Jones, William Byron, Justin Allgaier, Alex Bowman, Brian Scott, Ryan Blaney, Brennan Poole, Daniel Suarez, Brandon Jones and John Wes Townley. Over the years the Venturini name has become synonymous with modern-day racing in America. In 2012, the Venturini family was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame and now find themselves enshrined with such sports icons as Joe DiMaggio, Mario Andretti, Vince Lombardi, Tommy Lasorda and Rocky Marciano.