Zane Smith after winning his first NASCAR Truck title: I was crying that whole lap

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Zane Smith once again confirmed his qualities by winning the NASCAR Truck Series race at Phoenix. This also meant winning the 2022 series title. Smith even cried at one point. The emotions were too strong. “Oh, my God, third time’s a charm.

I want this (expletive) more than anyone in the world. I don't care what anyone says. Thank you to all you race fans, my whole team. Oh, my God, I was crying that whole lap,” Smith said for motorsport.com “I've wanted this championship for so long.

I’ve wanted this moment all my life. Thank you, everyone. That’s all I’ve got”. The final restart was important, and he revealed his tactics; "I wasn't going to let it go down like that. I was either wrecked or I was winning this thing.

There was no other option. Just last year and the year before we showed so much speed and should have won a lot more races than we did, but (team owner) Bob Jenkins is the only reason why I’m here right now, and without him, none of this would be possible”.

Rhodes: We just didn’t need that last caution

Rhodes was close to the title, but he emphasized what was the key factor. He thinks they could have done much more. “I don’t know, two tires versus four, that was the name of the game.

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,” Rhodes said. “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 (Zane Smith) all the dirty air he could handle. I think we were going to be fine until that caution got us”.