ARCA handed Zane Smith and his #41 MDM team a rather light penalty for his actions Saturday night on the famed high banks of Salem Speedway.
Zane Smith has been fined $5,000, and he and team owner Doug Fuller have been penalized with the loss of 100 championship points (Driver, Owner, Short Track Challenge) as well as corresponding special awards points.
The penalty
That 100 point penalty sets Zane 405 points behind leader Sheldon Creed with 2 races to go. Assuming Creed starts that race at Lucas Oil Raceway on October 6th he will be the 2018 ARCA champion. The race winner in ARCA earns 200 points, even with bonus points assuming Creed starts the race he will have enough points to be crowned champ following the race.
A suspension is what most people were expecting for Zane. With two races left in the season and the championship all but decided a 1-2 race suspension would have been logical. You can’t have drivers deliberately waiting on other drivers.
What Led Up To This
After Smith and Michael Self, both wrecked each other and the retaliation seemed equal the #41 car went back on track and ended the #55’s night. A blatant move that you would see every Saturday night at Bowman Gray Stadium. Essentially Zane went all Matt Kenseth/Scott Speed on Michael Self.
After the race, we talked to Michael Self on the podcast who explained his side of the story. Give it a listen here. Self said he thought they were even after he turned Zane off turn 2 earlier in the race. Obviously, Zane had a different idea.
It’s an unceremonious way for Zane Smith to end his championship battle but if you’re going to go out you might as well go out in a blaze of retaliation glory.
