Zack Mitchell announced that he has departed from G.R. Smith Motorsports.
Mitchell made the announcement on Facebook. He wrote, “Zack Mitchell Motorsports has made the decision to step away from G.R. Smith Motorsports, effective immediately.”
“Unfortunately, things did not unfold as anticipated, and we have decided it is in the best interest of our team to move in a different direction,” he explained. “As we turn the page, we remain optimistic for the future. In the meantime, we will be returning to our family-owned No. 57 car.”
“We will be taking some time to regroup, get things back in order, and determine our next steps before returning to the track. While this chapter did not end the way we had hoped, our commitment to racing and building a successful future remains unchanged,” Mitchell and the team added. “We want to thank our sponsors, partners, fans, and everyone who has continued to stand behind us through every chapter of this journey. Your continued support means more than you know, and we are incredibly grateful for each of you.”
“We look forward to what the future holds for Zack Mitchell Motorsports as we begin this next chapter,” the team concluded.
Mitchell joined G.R. Smith Motorsports in July following the departure of Drake Troutman. The team initially planned to continue to compete with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series and they did that with a 2nd place finish at Stateline and 10th at Sharon Speedway in the middle of July.
The team then took on the Southern Nationals Series and finished 3rd at Volunteer, 4th at Harris, 6th at Modoc, and 7th at Cochran. The team ended its Southern Nationals stop after Cochran due to damage sustained in a wreck that began between the leaders Wil Herrington and Cody Overton.
đź’Ą The leaders tangle at Cochran!@SoNationals #SouthernNationals pic.twitter.com/Jh9giMXfvd
— FloRacing (@FloRacing) July 19, 2026
After bowing out of the Southern Nationals, they returned to Outlaws competition for the Prairie Dirt Classic. The team finished 11th in Showdown Feature 2 on Friday night and then 28th on Saturday night.
They continued with the Outlaws to Cedar Lake and finished 21st on Thursday and then 12th on Saturday night.
The team got its first win together in the middle of August at Toccoa after a 3rd place run at Cherokee with the Carolina Clash on August 15th. However, after the win, the team announced it would no longer compete with the Outlaws moving forward.
G.R. Smith Motorsports explained the decision to drop off the Outlaws tour, “When our deal came together toward the end of the season, our intention was always to finish out the entire tour. However, a combination of crew availability and several other circumstances has made it clear that we need to make the decision that makes the most sense for our team at this time.”
In a subsequent post, the team explained, “Zack and I talked about this from the start that we were going to both national tour and pick n choose schedule and see which one we had more fun with. End of story.”
“Listen it’s simple we both have families. My boy races. It’s hard to be away from home year after year. This schedule allows us to be home a lot more and race in front of our family friends and sponsors . At the end of the day you need to be happy doing this,” he continued. “I have chased the roads with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series and it was a blast these last 4 years but hiring Zack Mitchell has also made me realize that we missed racing in our region at home and seeing friends fans that I haven’t seen in years.”
“Zack and I talked and decided we just wanted to go have fun when weather is bad we don’t have to drive 15 hrs to a race when there are some in our area that weather looks good.. When the weather doesn’t look great in our area we can go catch up and race in another part of the country.”
“It really came down to having fun and spending that time with family,” Smith concluded. “Yes they can turn on the tv however it’s just not the same! We as a team are excited and energized to go race! I hope this addresses and clears up all the questions and assumptions!”
Zack Mitchell. Photo by Event Horizon Photography
After announcing its exit from the World of Outlaws, the team found itself on a little bit of a roller coaster. It finished 21st at Tazewell and 22nd at Smoky Mountain. It got back to victory lane at Ponderosa and had a 4th place finish at Lake Cumberland, but suffered a DNF during the Country Roads 100 at Tyler County.
It would get a 13th at Lavonia to start the month of September and followed that up with 26th and 14th place finishes at Eldora in preliminary action for the World 100. They would make the World and bring home a stout 14th place finish.
Following the World they competed at Swainsboro with the Hunt the Front Dirt Series last weekend and finished 21st and 6th. With those finishes Mitchell found himself 12th in the series’ points standings 324 behind current leader Ashton Winger.
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