Friendship provides spark for Dylan Cappello, Zane Smith in NASCAR Truck Series final

They say the NASCAR community is small, but that world is significantly smaller when growing up on the West Coast. Front Row Motorsports in North Carolina is a long way from Mesa, Arizona and Huntington Beach, California, but it’s where Dylan Cappello and Zane Smith were reunited for an opportunity that would be a dream for most.

On Friday, Cappello, an engineer, and Smith, driver of the No. 38 Ford F-150, will have a chance to win their first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship together, all while being close to home.

“I feel like you couldn’t write a better story,” Cappello said. “We’ve made huge strides with our program. Going to Phoenix with a shot this year is a huge leap and I feel like we have all the stuff in place and the tools to have a real shot at it.”

Cappello, 26, used to race quarter-midgets in the Phoenix Raceway parking lot growing up and always had ambitions of securing a career in motorsports. In his adolescent years, he would travel the West Coast and compete, which was how he met Smith.

Eventually, funding ran dry for Cappello and he had to give up racing, as Smith continued down his current career path and moved away. Determined to integrate himself into the racing world, Cappello got an engineering degree from Northern Arizona University, which helped earn him a role as race engineer for Front Row Motorsports in 2020.

Having fallen out of touch after going their separate ways, the pair of buddies reconnected a few years back at Watkins Glen International, when their team haulers were parked next to each other. It wasn’t until this year, when Smith moved to FRM, that they could really pick up where they left off.

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Heading into the championship race at Phoenix, the teammates have set series-best marks, scoring three wins, 18 top-10s and maintaining an 8th-place average through 22 races in their first year working together.

“Dylan is a talent that is looked at by a lot of other teams right now,” Smith said. “When I was going over (to FRM), I had gotten (Cappello’s) contact and told him what my plans were and how I really wanted him to stay — to work together. Fortunately, he was about it and it’s worked out to where we’ve grabbed three wins this year and the regular-season championship.”

Said Cappello: “I think it was cool that he reached out and wanted to keep that team from last year together when he came over here. That was a big part for him, so I respected that he reached out to all of us and let us know how much it meant that he trusted our team to take him in the right direction in his career.”

Since joining FRM in 2020, Cappello’s job as race engineer hasn’t changed, but his role has increased dramatically.

Although his main duties are still going over race setups and working in the simulator every Monday with Smith, he’s become more involved in competition preparation. Cappello will go over everything from prior track notes to driver lines and even pit road tactics to keep his friend as informed as possible before strapping in for battle.

“When you have someone that’s driven and raced and knows the feelings that you’re talking about, you get on that same page a lot quicker than someone that’s booksmart,” Smith said. “Dylan knows exactly what I’m talking about, typically, right when I say it and I feel like that’s what you really need, especially in today’s world, where there’s only 20 minutes of practice and all of the speed is done at the shop.”

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For Smith, success boils down to communication, which is what makes the built-in rapport between him and Cappello so dangerous to their fellow Championship 4 contenders. History aside, the two continue to strengthen their bond by getting lunch multiple times throughout the week and hanging out with their “West Coast clique,” consisting of Cappello, Smith and Las Vegas-born NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers Noah Gragson and Riley Herbst.

“It makes the team feel a little bit different,” Cappello said. “You feel like you’re working with a buddy (and) it gives you a little bit of a different dynamic. After talking to him more once he came over (to FRM), he’s the same down to earth kid that just wants to race, wants to win and wants to do anything he can to further his career. We’ve got the same goals, you know?”

Smith has finished runner-up in the Truck Series championship race the past two seasons. Now in the midst of a career-best campaign, maybe three times will be the charm — with a helping hand from a childhood friend that could be the spark needed to finally get it done in the Valley.

“It’s so crazy; the world of racing and how everything works out,” Smith said. “One day your career may seem over and the next day you’re contending for a championship. To be able to win it on the West Coast, it would be so cool. I know his family and pretty much all of my family will be there, and I would love nothing more than to get all of us up on stage spraying some champagne.”

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Friendship provides spark for Cappello, Smith in NASCAR Trucks final