NASCAR Cup Series driver Zane Smith. Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Zane Smith okay after terrifying flip in NASCAR race at Kansas Speedway

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Sep 28, 2025 8:58 PM ET

Despite a wild double-overtime finish in Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, no driver in the NASCAR Cup Series field had as wild of a day as Zane Smith.

The second-year driver went for a harrowing upside-down ride late in Sunday's playoff race that left his No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford looking like it had just finished winning a demolition derby at the county fair.

After contact with John Hunter Nemechek in Turn 3, Smith's car turned on its side and rode the wall through the corner before turning over several times and coming to rest on all four wheels.

Zane Smith is okay after this wild ride at Kansas. pic.twitter.com/4LY13oERPm
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) September 28, 2025

Thankfully, Smith was unharmed after the scary incident. He finished Sunday's race in 31st and is 27th in the Cup Series standings after 31 of 36 races this season.

"It was a wild ride, no doubt," Smith told USA Network. "I had a decent restart going, and I just get wrecked by the No. 42 (Nemechek). (He) just drives through me.

I was sliding on the wall and just mad at that point from how our day was going, and (flipping) just pissed me off even more. That's what really hurt, was flipping down the track. Violent, no doubt."

Smith will look to rebound at the Charlotte Roval next week, where he finished 19th a year ago.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

More must-reads: