Tag: Front Row Motorsports

Riley Herbst will return to Front Row Motorsports at Talladega

Riley Herbst will return to the No. 36 car for Front Row Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.

[autotag]Riley Herbst[/autotag] joined [autotag]Front Row Motorsports[/autotag] at Daytona International Speedway and showed impressive speed over the course of the weekend. Herbst qualified in sixth place and ran well before crashing out for a 38th-place finish. Now, the 24-year-old driver will receive another opportunity in the No. 36 Cup car.

According to the NASCAR roster portal, Herbst will drive the No. 36 car for Front Row Motorsports in the Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. It would be Herbst’s fourth career Cup Series start as he possesses a best finish of 10th place in the 2023 Daytona 500 with Rick Ware Racing. Also, Todd Gilliland will return to the No. 38 car after Zane Smith drives the entry at Texas Motor Speedway.

Tony Manzer is set to be Herbst’s crew chief, which would be their second start together after Daytona. The pit crew is also expected to be the same from his first start in the No. 36 car. Herbst has only run superspeedway tracks in the Cup Series to this point; however, he has shown enough speed to potentially run competitively in the top 10 positions at Talladega.

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Front Row Motorsports provides big update on contract offer to Zane Smith

Front Row Motorsports gives a big update on their contract offer to defending NASCAR Truck Series champion Zane Smith for the 2024 season.

[autotag]Front Row Motorsports[/autotag] had one of the best weeks of its existence leading up to the Indianapolis Road Course. During the week, the organization announced that Michael McDowell and Todd Gilliland would return to the NASCAR Cup Series program in 2024. Then on Sunday, McDowell held off Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott for the victory at Indianapolis.

It was a great couple of days for Front Row Motorsports; however, there are still questions about one of their driver’s future.[autotag] Zane Smith[/autotag], the defending NASCAR Truck Series champion, will not join the Cup Series program and can pursue other opportunities. This includes the possibility of returning to the organization next season. However, is this realistic? Front Row Motorsports hopes that is the case.

According to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s Danielle Trotta, Front Row Motorsports general manager Jerry Freeze said the organization has offered Smith an opportunity to return to the Truck Series program and make limited Cup Series starts next year. Freeze said Smith’s future is still unknown and that no deal has been completed at this time.

The driver of the No. 38 truck should have better opportunities available, such as being the replacement for Aric Almirola at Stewart-Haas Racing if he retires from NASCAR. For now, Smith will look at other situations while a confirmed offer is on the table from Front Row Motorsports.

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McDowell snatches Cup playoff berth with dominant Indy win

Running a race he knew he could win, Michael McDowell held off Chase Elliott in Sunday’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard a grabbed a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. The driver of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford led 54 of 82 laps at the …

Running a race he knew he could win, Michael McDowell held off Chase Elliott in Sunday’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard a grabbed a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

The driver of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford led 54 of 82 laps at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in a race that featured just one caution and ran under the green flag for the final 77 laps.

“My family comes to the races we think we can win,” said McDowell, who shared hugs with his wife and children after climbing from his car. “We thought we could win this one.”

McDowell’s second career victory was a convincing one. He passed pole winner Daniel Suárez for the lead after a restart on lap six and held it until he brought the No. 34 Mustang to pit road on lap 17 for a green-flag stop.

After pitting for a second time on lap 49, McDowell regained the top spot when Bubba Wallace pitted on lap 53 and held it the rest of the way. Over the last 29 laps, Elliott—needing a victory to advance to the Playoffs—narrowed McDowell’s 4s margin to 0.937s at the finish, but that was as close as the 2020 series champion could get.

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“I was really trying to pace myself,” McDowell said. “I figured there would be a late-race caution, and I didn’t want to burn my stuff up. I was just trying to maintain that gap.

“Then when I got into traffic, [Elliott] started closing, I had to push it, but I just can’t believe it.”

McDowell now has victories at Daytona (the 2021 Daytona 500) and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, arguably the two most iconic venues in the sport. He put a Ford in Victory Lane at a road course for the first time since Ryan Blaney won the inaugural race at the Charlotte Roval in 2018.

“Winning the Daytona 500 was one of the coolest moments you could ever have,” said McDowell, one of the most accomplished road racers in the Cup Series. “But going to Victory Lane without your family, that was tough.

“So we cherry-pick. We come to the races we think we can win… Just so proud… You know, I thought we could point our way in [to the Playoffs], but after the car that we had yesterday in practice, I thought, ‘Man, we’ve got a good shot at winning if we could just get track position and maintain it.’”

That’s exactly what McDowell did. After Suarez beat McDowell of pit road on lap 17, McDowell chased the No. 99 Chevrolet until they caught the cars of Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski at the end of Stage 2 on lap 35.

Hamlin and Keselowski were on older tires, and McDowell surged past Keselowski and Suárez through the Turn 12 and 13 complex. When Hamlin and Keselowski finally came to pit road on lap 36, McDowell was back in the lead.

Much of the race was a three-way battle between McDowell, Elliott and Suárez, but Suárez lost valuable time when his left front tire landed on an air gun hose during the lap 49 stop. The snafu cost Suárez 6s and a chance to win.

“We win and we lose as a team, and that’s all I can say,” said Suárez, who salvaged a third-place finish. “The guys brought a very fast race car. I felt that maybe we were one adjustment behind in the first run with the back of the car, but then we made it a little bit better.

“But I felt like I was always one step behind the No. 9 and the No. 34, and then at the end, I felt that when my car came alive again, we had that issue.

“Just a little bit heartbreaking, but that’s part of the sport. All we can do is continue to push, continue to build race cars like this, and I’ll keep on winning races.”

Elliott was gracious in his praise for McDowell, and he identified where his No. 9 Chevrolet needed to be stronger.

“Just to be a little better through the back half [of the course] over there and get off of [Turn] 14 a little better just to have myself in a better spot getting into [Turn] 1.

“Just really appreciate the effort, man. Our Napa Chevy was really good, really good. Just needed just a little bit more and came up a bit short. But congrats to Michael, man. He did a good job. Ran a great race and stayed mistake-free, and that’s what you’ve got to do to win.”

Tyler Reddick finished fourth, followed by Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell. Shane van Gisbergen, who won the Chicago Street Race in July was 10th in his second NASCAR Cup start.

McDowell’s win reduces the number of available Playoff spots to three. Keselowski and Kevin Harvick are comfortably situated on points—barring more different winners at Watkins Glen and Daytona—but Wallace’s hold on the final spot was reduced from 58 points pre-race to 28 over Suarez.

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Front Row Motorsports retains McDowell, Gilliland

Michael McDowell and Todd Gilliland will remain at Front Row Motorsports next season as the organization has exercised its option on both drivers for the NASCAR Cup Series. “Both Michael and Todd are like family to me,” said Front Row Motorsports …

Michael McDowell and Todd Gilliland will remain at Front Row Motorsports next season as the organization has exercised its option on both drivers for the NASCAR Cup Series.

“Both Michael and Todd are like family to me,” said Front Row Motorsports owner Bob Jenkins. “They have been determined to make the team better each season and they just keep fighting to do that. I’m proud of both and now we will be focused on the remainder of 2023 and prepare for 2024 to be even better.”

McDowell joined the organization in the No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang in 2018. A victory in the 2021 Daytona 500 earned McDowell and the team their first playoff berth. Last year, he had 12 top-10 finishes.

With three races remaining in the regular season, McDowell is 17th in the championship standings with five top-10 finishes and a chance to earn a postseason spot. He has made 452 starts in the Cup Series to date.

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Gilliland will go into his third season with Front Row Motorsports in 2024. He is having his strongest year to date in the No. 38 Ford Mustang with three top-10 finishes, and ranks 27th in the championship standings.

In addition to its two Cup Series cars, Front Row Motorsports will also continue to field an entry in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2024. Plans for that entry will be announced at a late date.

Zane Smith won the 2022 championship with Front Row and begins his championship defense this weekend in Indianapolis. Smith’s future is unknown as he is exploring opportunities in all three NASCAR national series, which include remaining with Front Row Motorsports.

Michael McDowell, Todd Gilliland returning to Front Row Motorsports in 2024

Michael McDowell and Todd Gilliland will return to Front Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2024.

Front Row Motorsports was the center of NASCAR silly season but the organization has firmly established its driver lineup in the Cup Series for 2024.

[autotag]Michael McDowell[/autotag] and [autotag]Todd Gilliland[/autotag] are returning to Front Row Motorsports in the Cup Series next year. The two drivers are in their second season together and have greatly improved with the NextGen car.

McDowell was a heavy favorite for Stewart-Haas Racing if Aric Almirola decided to retire from the Cup Series at the end of 2023. Gilliland was also mentioned as a candidate but their current organization had decided to move forward with their contracts.

On the other hand, Zane Smith, the organization’s driver in the NASCAR Truck Series, is now left without a spot in the Cup Series program. Smith has also been linked to Stewart-Haas Racing in case Almirola retires from the sport. The organization hasn’t ruled out keeping the defending Truck Series champion in the program.

Front Row Motorsports has significantly grown after McDowell’s victory in the 2021 Daytona 500. The driver of the No. 34 car has been competitive and could make the 2023 NASCAR playoffs on points with three races remaining.

The organization’s future in the Cup Series is very bright and keeping both of its drivers will be a good step toward more success. It will be interesting to see how McDowell and Gilliland perform with another season at Front Row Motorsports.

McDowell leads Loudon practice with show of FRM short track pace

Michael McDowell had the fastest overall lap in Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series practice session at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, topping the charts at 126.416mph (30.129s). He ran 26 laps. “For a guy that normally sucks at New Hampshire, that’s a …

Michael McDowell had the fastest overall lap in Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series practice session at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, topping the charts at 126.416mph (30.129s). He ran 26 laps.

“For a guy that normally sucks at New Hampshire, that’s a really good practice,” McDowell said. “I’m really proud of (crew chief) Travis Peterson and everybody at Front Row (Motorsports). Short tracks were our struggle, and we’ve turned it around this year. Richmond was good. Phoenix was good.

“We had our fingers crossed that we could nail it at New Hampshire and so far we have. The Pete Store Ford Mustang was good. We have to go out there and do it in qualifying now, but unloaded where we needed to be.”

Martin Truex Jr. was second fastest at 126.408mph. Truex dominated at New Hampshire last season for 172 laps led before finishing fourth.

The No. 19 was also fastest in the best five and 10-lap consecutive average.

Ross Chastain was third fastest overall at 126.077mph, Tyler Reddick fourth at 125.907mph, Bubba Wallace fifth at 125.815mph, Justin Haley sixth at 125.678mph and Kyle Busch seventh at 125.599mph.

Busch had a slide off Turn 2 and slapped the wall with the right rear and then the right front of his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. While it required attention from his crew, Busch did get back on track for additional laps before the session ended.

Brad Keselowski was eighth fastest at 125.587mph and teammate Chris Buescher was ninth at 125.310mph. Christopher Bell completed the top 10 at 125.257mph.

Bell is the defending race winner in New Hampshire. He was fastest in the best 15 consecutive lap average.

There are 36 drivers entered in the Crayon 301. Cole Custer is making his second start with Rick Ware Racing in the No. 51 Ford, and was 27th fastest in practice.

Ryan Newman is also back with Rick Ware Racing this weekend, driving the No. 51 Ford, and was 34th.

Zane Smith cheered by career-best Cup Series run at CMS

Zane Smith climbed from his No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford Mustang with smiles fitting of a top-10 finish in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The 10th-place finish was a career-best run for Smith. Monday’s postponed race was his …

Zane Smith climbed from his No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford Mustang with smiles fitting of a top-10 finish in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The 10th-place finish was a career-best run for Smith. Monday’s postponed race was his sixth career start in the NASCAR Cup Series and fifth with Front Row.

“I am so, so happy, as happy as could be,” Smith said. “I was worried when we didn’t take tires there, and we were running really good and had a really good day. It just worked out, so just a great job by this whole 38 Boot Barn FRM team.

“We got our Mustang better and better every single stop and that’s so cool. We run on half the budget, if that, then a lot of these guys, so to finish top 10 in our sixth start at the Coke 600 is really cool.”

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Smith’s previous best finish in the series was 13th in the Daytona 500. A year ago, Smith finished 17th in St. Louis in his series debut when he filled in for Chris Buescher, sidelined by COVID-19.

In his first Coca-Cola 600, Smith also led the first laps of his career when crew chief Ryan Bergenty kept him on track when the caution flew with 43 laps to go. Smith, who had a solid top-20 car throughout the race, inherited the lead but quickly fell backward when the race restarted.

Smith pitted for the last time to take tires when the final caution flew with 26 laps to go. It didn’t take him long to use those to his advantage to drive to 10th place.

One of the first things Smith said to the team as they greeted him at the car was the run was bad (expletive).

“It’s been a rough three weeks for me and the Cup Series is a different level,” Smith said. “Obviously, I’m trying to prove I belong here, and it’s just an outstanding run. Ryan does an outstanding job, and it’s so cool, to one, finish this race, but better yet, with a top 10.”

Monday was the longest race Smith had ever run. Having enjoyed the experience and finished well, Smith was ready for more afterward.

“I got to about halfway, and I had heard that story coming into this of how long this race feels, and I did a lot of preparation for the past month of just trying to prepare myself for this one,” Smith said. “I feel like I could go another 100 (miles) more, so did a good job there.

“But I’m just so proud of everyone at FRM and on this 38 car. It’s an outstanding job, I thought.”

Pocono 350 odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Sunday’s Pocono 350 at Pocono Raceway sports betting odds and lines, with NASCAR analysis, picks and tips.

The NASCAR Cup Series is back at the Pocono Raceway for the Pocono 350. The green flag drops Sunday at 4:20 p.m. ET with the race televised on FOX. Below, we analyze the Pocono 350 odds and betting lines, with NASCAR picks and tips with odds from BetMGM sportsbook.

Pocono 350: What you need to know

Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Sunday at 5 a.m. ET.

The NASCAR boys just ran on the track Saturday in the first doubleheader weekend in Cup Series history. Stewart Haas driver Kevin Harvick streaked to victory, holding off Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin by a few car lengths.

  • Leavine Family Racing driver Christopher Bell and Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell showed Saturday that the little guys can compete, especially in these shorter-length races. The rookie Bell had a tremendous Cup debut at the “Tricky Triangle,” racing his way to fourth place, while McDowell finished eighth.
  • Toyota’s streak of five consecutive Pocono victories was snapped Saturday with Harvick’s win. Ford now has three wins in the past eighth Pocono runs, while Chevrolet hasn’t been to victory in Long Pond since the Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400 in the Spring 2016 race.
  • Lucky Nine? Harvick started in the ninth position Saturday and raced to the win, while Hamlin won from the ninth starting spot last July at Pocono. Penske Racing’s Ryan Blaney (+1200 for Sunday’s race) starts ninth in the 350.
  • Aric Almirola (+1600) recorded a third-place finish Saturday, his highest finish in a Cup car during a Pocono start. His previous best was seventh, set during the Spring ’18 run.

Who is going to win the Pocono 350?

HAMLIN (+500) was my top pick for Saturday’s race, and he was just edged out by Harvick. Hamlin could have used some lapped traffic to disrupt Happy’s flow, but it just never came into fruition and the No. 11 had to settle for runner-up.

Hamlin is 12th or better in seven of his past eight Pocono starts, including a win last July, and the runner-up showing on Saturday. He was the top finishing Toyota in Saturday’s race.

KYLE BUSCH (+550) was unable to pick up the checkered flag Saturday, but still has three wins in his past six Pocono starts. He ended up in fifth place Saturday, which isn’t too shabby. In fact, Rowdy has placed inside the top 10 in eight consecutive starts at the “Tricky Triangle” since a disastrous 31st-place showing in the Spring ’16 start.

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MARTIN TRUEX JR. (+1000) made his presence felt with a solid sixth-place run, giving JGR three cars – joining Hamlin and Kyle Busch – in the top six positions. Truex was third in last season’s summer race, and has been sixth or better in five of his past seven Pocono starts. At this price (+1000), TRUEX IS A VERY GOOD VALUE.

Pocono Raceway long-shot bets

BELL (+6500) turned in a fourth-place showing in his Pocono Cup debut Saturday, so he has to be on the radar of bettors at this price as we eagerly wait to see what he can do for an encore. Even if he falls a few positions, you can scoop him up and RING THAT BELL AT +310 FOR A TOP-10 FINISH.

WILLIAM BYRON (+2200) had a solid 14th-place showing Saturday, setting him up to start from the seventh spot in Sunday’s grid. He has a solid 10.2 Average-Finish Position (AFP) in five career Cup starts at the Pennsylvania tri-oval, so keep an eye on the No. 24 car. If you’re not feeling him for checkers, but perhaps to place inside the top 10, he is just about even-money at +105.

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