Zane Smith, now 26, continues making his place in the NASCAR Cup Series with Front Row Motorsports, wheeling the No. 38 Ford after leaping from the team’s No. 38 Truck straight into the top tier. He logged a modest step forward this season, finishing P28, two positions better than his year with Spire Motorsports last season. While he is still working to establish himself professionally, the story that has quietly captured attention is his long-running relationship with his wife, McCall Smith/Gaulding, the younger sister of fellow driver Gray Gaulding.
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Until recently, the details of their love story were largely unknown, but McCall shed light on their history during her appearance on Haley Dillon’s podcast. She recalled how their connection dates back to her early teens, long before she ever met Smith. Growing up in a racing household, she got to know him and, by her own admission, always had a crush.
When Smith began seeking guidance on how to navigate his career path in motorsports, he contacted McCall’s father and flew to North Carolina to explore opportunities in legend cars, late models, and other developmental avenues.
McCall accompanied her father during those early meetings and quickly learned Smith’s Instagram handle, though her father was reluctant to share it at first. From that moment, she said she had “the biggest crush” on him for almost a year. She even recounted how excited she was when Smith arrived for an ARCA race, hoping to catch a glimpse of him.
Her father introduced them, but he wasn’t ready for his 13-year-old daughter to start dating, so their interaction stayed within the bounds of mutual friendship. That changed in 2016 as the two grew closer and began talking regularly.
They eventually planned a date, though her parents insisted she only go if a cousin joined them. Smith brought his best friend, Mikey, turning the evening into an improvised double date.
From that point on, their relationship took root. Smith later brought her to the Biltmore and officially asked her to be his girlfriend on August 31, 2016, a moment she described as surreal. She said it felt like a dream that had materialized, adding that “it went from this like manifestation, like it’s so funny.”
McCall even drew a comparison to Haley Bieber, joking that just as Haley once manifested Justin Bieber into her life, she had somehow manifested the NASCAR driver she admired from afar. Years later, the two are married, and Smith is continuing his climb in NASCAR while McCall reflects on a love story that began long before either of them realized where it would lead.
