DOVER, Del. — As each NASCAR Cup Series team made its move during the 2026 Mechanix Wear Pit Crew Challenge at Dover Motor Speedway, Zane Smith’s No. 38 Front Row Motorsports team eagerly watched.
The group, after being the 14th team to qualify during Saturday’s competition, congregated in front of the designated pit stalls for the All-Star event after tallying a 12.612-second time. Members swiveled between Dover’s infield video board and other teams’ pit-stop sessions to see if their strong showing would hold serve.
Cup Series points leader Tyler Reddick and the No. 45 23XI Racing team closed out the competition, and even before the stop was completed, the No. 38 team started celebrating. The No. 45 Toyota leaving the stall after a hold-up on the left side was only a formality. No. 38 team members erupted, clapping, hugging and huddling together in celebratory fashion after clinching the 2026 Pit Crew Challenge victory.
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“That was great,” No. 38 fueler Ray Hernandez told NASCAR.com. “… That’s what we do for a living. We take it really serious. So, it’s one of those things where we finally had a chance to show up and give our best. So, it’s very exciting for us.”
Michael Louria, front-tire changer for the No. 38 team, echoed Hernandez’s statements and credited Smith for setting the team up for success.
“Started off just like a regular stop in practice,” Louria told NASCAR.com. “Zane hit his mark really well, which helped a lot. He’s a bigger part in this competition than you think, but yeah, we just did our job clean on all four tires and then got out of there smooth.”
The No. 38 team swiftly congregated to Victory Lane to not only accept the winning hardware — an honorary car jack and pit gun — but also the $100,000 check. “Don’t hurt yourself – we need you tomorrow!” yelled a team member as the crew attempted to hoist the trophy, noting an All-Star Race was still in need of running. (The No. 38 team finished 21st and 22nd in the two opening segments and did not advance to the main event on Sunday.)
Of course, such giddiness was certainly warranted. After the May 10 race at Watkins Glen International, the No. 38 pit crew ranks 15th among all Cup Series teams, with a best stop of 9.20 seconds, ranking 18th.
Steady results, for sure, but one aspect that helps make the stats shine is the exposure the No. 38 team has to other strong pit crews. The No. 38 crew is supplied by Joe Gibbs Racing, and with experience around JGR crews — with the No. 20 team (first), No. 11 team (fifth) and No. 54 team (seventh) all statistically ranking inside the top 10, according to Racing Insights — such visibility pays off.
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Character is just as important as the metrics, though, and the No. 38 team might prove this case in point. Want proof? Hear from the team’s driver.
“I feel like just their humbleness,” Smith said during the 2026 Pit Crew Challenge regarding the team’s biggest quality. “I feel like they are the fastest crew so far by a good bit … they just stay humble, and I think that goes a long way, and it’s incredible to have them.”
“I’d say humbleness and just togetherness,” Louria said regarding the crew’s strength. “This is my first year on the crew, and I’ve never felt more heart in a team and a family since I’ve been doing this, so yeah, humbleness.
“We just work hard, do our jobs, and then yeah, have a lot of fun with it, too, is the most important thing.”
To Hernandez, such a combination of character, with experience around powerhouse teams, creates a bond that only makes the team stronger.
“Us being at Gibbs, we get to see fast pit stops every single day, we work every day with it,” Hernandez said regarding the arrangement. “We have a lot of other drivers, other teams that are very fast, just like us. So it’s easy for us to be humble, because we’re not, quote-unquote, on a house car like we’d want to be, which is one of the Gibbs cars. Just kind of easy for us to be humble. Our position is a humbling position in the sport, where we race for Front Row, but we have Gibbs speed, if that makes sense. Very good situation for us.”
Pride, not points, was the weekend theme, and the No. 38 team gained plenty. Such momentum could be the very spark needed for Smith and the Front Row Motorsports organization to take the next leap forward. Smith ranks 23rd in the Cup Series standings as the Cup Series field returns to points action at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday (6 p.m. ET, Prime Video, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
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So, what does the victory mean in terms of the remainder of the 2026 campaign? Plenty. After all, any team contending for a Cup Series title usually has a strong pit crew to boot.
“It just goes to show that there’s speed all over the track,” Hernandez said. “Oftentimes, fans kind of just see what you see on the race track, but there’s a lot that whoever ends up being a champion this year, odds are that pit crew is probably good. Very, very, very unlikely that the fastest team or the team that wins the championship will have a slow pit crew. So, hopefully this does carry over because being a fast pit crew should help on the track as well, you know, gaining spots.”
With smiles and cheers to go along with fresh hardware and cold, hard cash, there is no limit to what’s next.
“It’s a huge confidence booster, for sure,” Louria said. “When you’re going up against all these crews, everybody’s amazing, and then just to do a good job and get first place in something like this, it’ll give us a huge confidence boost, for sure, for the rest of the year.”