NASCAR Penalizes Cup Series Team Ahead of Phoenix Race

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jonathan Howard | Last updated Mar 7, 2026 5:28 PM ET

Bad news for Zane Smith and the No. 38 team of Front Row Motorsports. Smith and his team have been penalized by NASCAR. The team made an unapproved adjustment after qualifying on Saturday and will now have a number of punishments.

Getting caught making an unapproved adjustment after inspection and qualifying is a pretty big deal. On a track like Phoenix, it could end your day before it begins if you aren't careful.

The car chief for the 38 team, Will Norris, is ejected from the race weekend. Zane Smith will start in the rear of the field and will have to do a pass-through penalty on pit road to start the race. He will likely be a lap down by the time he gets going on the track. Smith was slated to start P24 based off of qualifying results.

NASCAR announced the penalty against Smith on Saturday afternoon. Not a great start to the weekend after such a good first three weeks for this group.

The No. 38 in the NASCAR Cup Series was observed making an unapproved adjustment to the underbody during practice/pre-qualifying adjustments. The vehicle was reinspected prior to practice/qualifying session.

The No. 38 car chief (Will Norris) has been ejected from the Phoenix…
— NASCAR Communications (@NASCAR_Comms) March 7, 2026

Zane Smith is 14th in points through three races this season. He did a great job of keeping himself in the mix and earning points at Daytona and Atlanta. COTA wasn't such a great weekend for him. Now, he's going to be fighting an uphill battle early this Sunday.

If Smith can get through the first stage without incident, he might get the lucky dog and get back on the lead lap early. If not, he could get multiple laps down early and be stuck. It all depends on how the first stage plays out.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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