ESPN’s Marty Smith delivers epic command to start NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Sonoma

Marty Smith loves NASCAR, and I bet he’s loving the battle between Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch today. These two are going at it early on in this Sonoma race as SVG leads the 18-year-old prodigy by less than a second.

Throughout the years, Smith has been part of iconic moments in NASCAR. He has a good relationship with many in the garage as well as stars of the past like Dale Earnhardt Jr. While his career has taken him to other sports and new heights in American sports media, he’s always got a little bit of time to get back to his racing roots.

Of course, Marty Smith has a NASCAR podcast of sorts. He is co-hosting with Jimmie Johnson on the Never Settle podcast. Not explicitly about racing, but if Superman is involved then it has to have a little bit to do with racing.

Marty Smith gives NASCAR command for SVG vs. Zilisch

Everyone knows that Shane van Gisbergen is the big name in NASCAR road course racing. Since he blew up on the scene in 2023 with his Chicago Street win in his debut, the Kiwi has been making headlines, and a living, dominating road course races.

While SVG is fantastic on road courses, he’s been doing it his entire life. He was racing professionally in Australia from 17 until he came to America in 2024. Basically, half of his life in Supercars. Zilisch is only 18 now, and he’s closer to SVG’s talent level on these road courses than anyone else in the sport.

With both drivers being signed to Trackhouse, we are going to get more battles. Today, it is Sonoma in the Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports. Next year, the battle will be in the Cup Series as the two will inevitably fight for King of the Road.