Blog Archives - Official Site of Front Row Motorsports

Love's Travel Stops and Luber-finer Join McDowell at Talladega

9/29/2020

McDowell on Talladega:

"I can't wait to head back to Talladega this weekend for the second time in 2020. We have our friends at Luber-finer back on the car with Love's, so it's great to have them back on board as they've been with us a few times over the last couple of years. Hopefully we can have a break-out race and get our No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford Mustang in Victory Lane on Sunday.

"Talladega has always been a great race track for our team; David Ragan picked up FRM's [Front Row Motorsports] first win there back in 2013 and it would be really cool to put a Front Row [Motorsports] car back in the Winner's Circle at Talladega this weekend. Love's Travel Stops was actually on board with David Gilliland and the No. 38 team when Ragan won and [Gilliland] finished runner-up. We just need to keep our race car clean and be there at the end when when it really matters. I think that if we can avoid the wrecks, we'll come out of Talladega with a solid result and maybe even a trophy.

"Today is National Coffee Day and Love's Travel Stops has a great initiative going on to raise money to help improve kids' health. Today, Love's Travel Stops will donate $1 to The Children's Miracle Network Hospitals for every Love's coffee purchased through their Love's Connect app. I encourage everyone to download their app and purchase your coffee!"

About Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores

Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores is the nation's industry-leading travel stop network with 530 locations in 41 states. Founded in 1964 and headquartered in Oklahoma City, the company remains family-owned and operated and employs more than 27,000 people. Love's provides professional truck drivers and motorists with 24-hour access to clean and safe places to purchase gasoline, diesel fuel, fresh coffee, restaurant offerings and more. Love's has more than 390 truck service centers, which include on-site and stand-alone Speedco and Love's Truck Tire Care locations. Love's and Speedco combined is the largest oil change, preventive maintenance and total truck care nationwide network. Love's is committed to providing customers with "Clean Places, Friendly Faces" at every stop. To learn more, visit loves.com.

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Michael McDowell Post-Race Report: Las Vegas

9/27/2020

Michael McDowell
No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Delo Ford Mustang

Started: 17th
Finished: 21st

Stage One: 20th
Stage Two: 19th
Stage Three: 21st

Michael McDowell and his No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Delo Ford Mustang took the green flag on Sunday night from the 17th position at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. On Lap 25, the yellow flag would be displayed for the Competition Caution. McDowell noted that his Ford Mustang was "loose over the bumps; mostly entry to middle" and would pit for 4 tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment. McDowell would run inside of the Top-20 throughout the remainder of the first Stage and go on to take the Stage 1 green-and white-checkered flag from the 20th position. Under caution, Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer made the call for 4 tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment after McDowell noted that his "entry was better," but his race car was "starting to slide the right front [tire] on exit."

Shortly after the green flag dropped to begin Stage 2, McDowell came over the radio to say that he wasn't sure if his No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Delo Ford Mustang sustained any damage on the restart, noting that his race car got "plowed." Shortly after, on Lap 106, Blickensderfer confirmed that there was in fact damage, however McDowell was able to continue his Top-20 run before pitting under green for 4 tires and fuel with roughly 40 Laps remaining in the second stage. McDowell would go on to finish Stage 2 in 19th place. During the Stage Break Caution, the No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Delo Ford Mustang came to pit road for 4 tires and fuel as McDowell noted that he was happy with the balance of his race car.

In the final stage of Sunday night's 400-Mile race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Delo Ford Mustang would continue its Top-20 run. On Lap 191, the caution flag would fly for debris and McDowell would bring his race car to pit road for 4 tires, an air pressure adjustment, a trackbar adjustment and fuel. Green flag racing would resume for roughly 40 more laps before another debris caution would occur, prompting McDowell to pit for 4 tires, fuel and a trackbar adjustment. The 7th caution of the night would come on Lap 262 as McDowell would bring his No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Delo Ford Mustang to pit road for 4 tires, fuel and trackbar adjustment after noting that his race car was "too tight." He would go on to take the checkered flag from the 21st position.

McDowell on Las Vegas:

"That was definitely a tough finish to what was a much stronger performance by our No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Delo team all race long. We ran inside of the Top-20 for basically the entire race, getting as high as 5th or 6th at one point; but unfortunately the handful of late-race cautions and multiple restarts just got us shuffled back to where there weren't enough laps to drive back towards the front. I'd like to thank Love's Travel Stops and Delo for coming on board with us today at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and I'd also like to thank my guys for all of their hard work on pit road. We'll head home tonight and get ready to head to Talladega next weekend."

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McDowell Looks for Continued Success with Love's Travel Stops and Delo at Las Vegas

9/23/2020

McDowell on Las Vegas:

"I can't wait to head back to Las Vegas this weekend for the second time this year. It feels like forever since we were last at Las Vegas; you know, with the quarantine and everything else that has happened this year, it feels like a really long time.

"I'm also excited to get back on a mile-and-a-half. Las Vegas has shown to be a strong race track for us in past races and unfortunately we had some mechanical issue in the spring, so hopefully we can rebound this time around and add another solid result to our 2020 portfolio.

"We have Love's Travel Stops and Delo back on board our No. 34 Ford Mustang for the second consecutive week and we're coming off of a great Top-10 run together at Bristol, so hopefully we can keep the momentum rolling with them this weekend.

“We're nearing the end of September, but we're not there yet. I want to remind all professional truck drivers that throughout the entire month of September, Love's has been running some really cool initiatives that were created specifically to show their appreciation for all that professional truck drivers have done and are continuing to do to help keep America moving. I encourage all professional truck drivers to head over to Loves.com to learn more and take advantage of these great rewards programs while they last."

About Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores

Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores is the nation's industry-leading travel stop network with 530 locations in 41 states. Founded in 1964 and headquartered in Oklahoma City, the company remains family-owned and operated and employs more than 27,000 people. Love's provides professional truck drivers and motorists with 24-hour access to clean and safe places to purchase gasoline, diesel fuel, fresh coffee, restaurant offerings and more. Love's has more than 390 truck service centers, which include on-site and stand-alone Speedco and Love's Truck Tire Care locations. Love's and Speedco combined is the largest oil change, preventive maintenance and total truck care nationwide network. Love's is committed to providing customers with "Clean Places, Friendly Faces" at every stop. To learn more, visit loves.com.

About Chevron Delo®

Chevron Delo® is the global commercial lubricant technology leader recognized by OEMS and consumers for providing superb heavy-duty diesel equipment protection. Delo 400 with ISOSYN Advanced Technology works to provide excellent diesel parts protection, improve engine longevity and extend oil drain performance. Delo
400 low viscosity oils will help optimize fuel efficiency performance.

ISOSYN ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY is the combination of Chevron’s outstanding formulation expertise, unique high performance additive chemistry and premium base oils helps extend the durability of critical diesel engine parts.

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Michael McDowell Earns Career-Best 10th Place Finish at Bristol with Love's Travel Stops

9/19/2020

Michael McDowell
No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Delo Ford Mustang

Started: 26th
Finished: 10th

Stage One: 26th
Stage Two: 24th
Stage Three: 10th

The No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Delo Ford Mustang took the green flag on Saturday night from the 26th position at Bristol Motor Speedway. On Lap 25, McDowell radioed to his team to say that his race car was "tight across the middle," which prompted Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer to make the call for 4 tires, fuel and a trackbar adjustment during the Competition Caution. The remainder of Stage 1 would stay green and the No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Delo Ford Mustang would take the first green-and white-checkered flag from the 26th position. During the first Stage Break Caution, McDowell noted that he still needed "better turn across the middle of the corner to be able to run higher up" and would pit for 4 tires, an air pressure adjustment, a wedge adjustment and fuel.

The majority of Stage 2 was run under green, however with less than 20 laps remaining, the caution flag was displayed. Under caution, McDowell told his team, "as I ran, I thought that I was okay. It just takes too long to get going." Blickensderfer would tell McDowell to "stay out" to take the wave-around and regain the lead lap and McDowell would go on to finish Stage 2 from the 24th position. McDowell would pit during the Stage 2 Caution for 4 tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment.

In the final stage of Saturday night's 500-lap race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Michael McDowell and his No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Delo Ford Mustang would mount a strong charge towards the front. The caution flag would fly on Lap 406 to which McDowell told Blickensderfer, "I think we're close here, Drew" and the No. 34 would pit for 4 tires and fuel. Green flag racing would resume with less than 100 laps remaining and McDowell would continue his strong Stage 3 performance as the No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Delo Ford Mustang would go on to take the checkered flag from the 10th position, earning McDowell a new career-best finish at Bristol Motor Speedway.

McDowell on Bristol:

"Well what an awesome night for our No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford Mustang. We got a Top-10 at Bristol; really proud of everybody at Front Row Motorsports. I'm so thankful to Bob Jenkins and all of my guys for giving me this opportunity. It's the best season that I've ever had and another Top-10 really helps to keep our momentum rolling. We also have a Ford in Victory Lane, so that's awesome. I'm just super excited to get a Top-10 at Bristol."

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McDowell Aims for Second Consecutive Top-15 at Bristol with Love’s Travel Stops and Delo

9/16/2020

McDowell on Bristol:

"Bristol is a great race track and we've had some pretty good finishes the last few times that we've been there. Obviously, Richmond didn't go as well as we had hoped, but I'm really looking forward to seeing fans back in the stands on Saturday night and hopefully the energy of the crowd will help drive us to a strong finish. We've had a really good season, but with only 8 races left, we need to finish it out strong; and I think we can get some really good momentum back this weekend and have a solid run for our Love's Travel Stops team.

"We also have Delo rejoining our No. 34 program as an associate partner this weekend. They've been an associate partner of our Love's program for a few years now, so it's great to have them back on board as well.

“I'll wrap up with my weekly reminder that throughout the entire month of September, Love’s is running a variety of really cool initiatives that have been specifically created to show appreciation for all that professional truck drivers have done and are continuing to do to help keep America moving. If you're a professional truck driver, I encourage you to visit Loves.com to learn more about the different programs that you can be a part of."

About Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores

Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores is the nation's industry-leading travel stop network with 530 locations in 41 states. Founded in 1964 and headquartered in Oklahoma City, the company remains family-owned and operated and employs more than 27,000 people. Love's provides professional truck drivers and motorists with 24-hour access to clean and safe places to purchase gasoline, diesel fuel, fresh coffee, restaurant offerings and more. Love's has more than 390 truck service centers, which include on-site and stand-alone Speedco and Love's Truck Tire Care locations. Love's and Speedco combined is the largest oil change, preventive maintenance and total truck care nationwide network. Love's is committed to providing customers with "Clean Places, Friendly Faces" at every stop. To learn more, visit Loves.com.

About Chevron Delo®

Chevron Delo® is the global commercial lubricant technology leader recognized by OEMS and consumers for providing superb heavy-duty diesel equipment protection. Delo 400 with ISOSYN Advanced Technology works to provide excellent diesel parts protection, improve engine longevity and extend oil drain performance. Delo
400 low viscosity oils will help optimize fuel efficiency performance.

ISOSYN ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY is the combination of Chevron’s outstanding formulation expertise, unique high performance additive chemistry and premium base oils helps extend the durability of critical diesel engine parts.

Michael McDowell Post-Race Report: Richmond

9/12/2020

Michael McDowell
No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Speedco Ford Mustang

Started: 20th
Finished: 25th

Stage One: 24th
Stage Two: 25th
Stage Three: 25th

Michael McDowell and his No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Speedco Ford Mustang would take the green flag from the 20th position on Saturday night, under the lights of Richmond Raceway. Early into the run, McDowell radioed to his crew saying, "I'm slowly losing my power steering," an issue that McDowell was forced to race with throughout the remainder of the evening. During the Competition Caution on Lap 30, Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer made the call for 4 tires, an air pressure adjustment and fuel. Once racing resumed, the remainder of Stage 1 would stay green and the No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Speedco Ford Mustang would take the first green-and white-checkered flag from the 24th position. During the Stage Break, McDowell would pit for 4 tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment after noting that his race car "tightened up as I ran."

During Stage 2, pit strategy and green flag pit stops was the name of the game. McDowell would bring his No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Speedco Ford Mustang to pit road under green on Lap 185 for 4 tires and fuel before going on to finish the caution-less Stage 2 from the 25th position. McDowell would pit during the Stage 2 Caution for 4 tires and fuel.

In the caution-less final stage of Saturday night's 300-mile race, the No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Speedco Ford Mustang would continue to run in and around the 25th position. Halfway through the stage, McDowell noted that he was having trouble with his right front, saying "I'm having to over-slow the middle ... having trouble turning." Shortly after that, Blickensderfer came over the radio to say that a piece of trash was stuck over the intake of the right front brake cooling duct. McDowell would pit under green on Lap 293 for 4 tires and fuel, and go on to take the checkered flag at from the 25th position at Richmond Raceway.

McDowell on Richmond:

“Well that was a long night at Richmond. We fired off pretty good on the first run and I felt like we were going to have something, but I'm not exactly sure what happened on the second run; we just got really loose and lost a lot of track position for a while before finally getting it back. Without a lot of cautions, there weren't many opportunities to get bunched back up. It wasn't the run that we wanted for our No. 34 Love's Travel Stops / Speedco Ford Mustang, but we stayed close to the guys that we're racing with in the points and we'll keep fighting; head to Bristol and try to get a better run in there. Everybody did a good job and worked really hard, we just didn't quite have it tonight."

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McDowell Looks for Strong Run with Love's Travel Stops at Richmond

9/8/2020

McDowell on Richmond:

“It was great to have both Love's Travel Stops and Speedco rejoin our No. 34 Ford Mustang last weekend at Darlington. We finished 16th with them on Sunday and had a really good points day, so I'm looking forward to heading to Richmond on Saturday and hopefully continuing to do more of the same.

"Night races are a lot fun, but also very challenging. When the sun sets and track temperatures begin to drop, speeds increase. When that happens, it really affects the balance of our race cars; so it should make for some exciting racing for fans to watch as we battle to stay ahead of constantly changing track conditions.

"Much like Darlington, tire wear will also play a factor at Richmond. Good pit strategy, tire management and trying not to use up our equipment too early in a run will all be very important. I'm excited to get behind the wheel of our No. 34 Ford Mustang on Saturday night and deliver another strong performance for everybody at Love's and Speedco.

“I also would like to remind everyone that throughout the entire month of September, Love’s is showing their appreciation for all that professional truck drivers have done, and are continuing to do to help keep America moving by offering a variety of really cool programs. Professional truck drivers can visit Loves.com to learn more about the different initiatives that they can be a part of."

About Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores

Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores is the nation's industry-leading travel stop network with 530 locations in 41 states. Founded in 1964 and headquartered in Oklahoma City, the company remains family-owned and operated and employs more than 27,000 people. Love's provides professional truck drivers and motorists with 24-hour access to clean and safe places to purchase gasoline, diesel fuel, fresh coffee, restaurant offerings and more. Love's has more than 390 truck service centers, which include on-site and stand-alone Speedco and Love's Truck Tire Care locations. Love's and Speedco combined is the largest oil change, preventive maintenance and total truck care nationwide network. Love's is committed to providing customers with "Clean Places, Friendly Faces" at every stop. To learn more, visit loves.com.

-30-

McDowell Earns New Personal-Best Finish at Darlington Raceway with Love's Travel Stops

9/6/2020

Michael McDowell
No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Speedco Ford Mustang

Started: 19th
Finished: 16th

Stage One: 24th
Stage Two: 25th
Stage Three: 16th

The No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Speedco Ford Mustang took the green flag in Sunday’s "Southern 500" from the 19th position at Darlington Raceway. Like most drivers, McDowell noted early on in Stage 1 that his race car was "really loose.” During the Competition Caution on Lap 25, Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer would call the No. 34 to pit road for 4 tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment. Once green flag racing resumed, McDowell would note that his No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Speedco Ford Mustang was still on the loose side and the would pit under green on Lap 69 for 4 tires, fuel and another wedge adjustment. The caution flag would fall on Lap 82 and the No. 34 would pit for 4 fresh Goodyear tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment. Michael McDowell and his No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Speedco Ford Mustang would go on to finish Stage 1 from the 24th position. During the Stage 1 Caution, the No. 34 would pit for 4 tires and fuel.

In Stage 2, as day turned to night and track temperatures began to drop, McDowell would continue to run comfortably inside of the Top-25. Roughly halfway through the stage, the No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Speedco Ford Mustang would pit under green for 4 tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment. The caution flag would be displayed on Lap 179, to which Blickensderfer would tell McDowell to "stay out" in order to take the wave-around; putting the No. 34 back on the Lead Lap. McDowell would take the Stage 2 green-and white-checkered flag from the 25th position.

As track temperatures continued to drop, Michael McDowell and his No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Speedco Ford Mustang would begin to show more speed. On Lap 246, McDowell noted that his race car was "a little bit tight." As the final stage of Sunday's 500-mile race at Darlington Raceway continued, McDowell would mount a strong run as he raced his No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Speedco Ford Mustang into the Top-20 and go on to take the checkered flag from the 16th position, earning McDowell a new personal-best finish at Darlington Raceway.

McDowell on Darlington:

“Well, that was a really positive end to what started out as a pretty tough day for our No. 34 team. We didn’t unload exactly how we had hoped to start the race, but Drew [Blickensderfer] and the guys did what they do best and made our race car a lot better by the time we took the green flag for the final stage. Overall, it was a pretty decent points day and another Top-20 to add to our season. I definitely wanted that Top-15, coming up just one position short; but we’ll take what we can get. I want to thank Love’s Travel Stops and Speedco for coming on board with our team tonight and I’m looking forward to having them back on the car next weekend at Richmond.”

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McDowell Heads to Darlington with Love's Travel Stops

9/2/2020

McDowell on Darlington:

"I can't wait to be back behind the wheel of the bright yellow No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford Mustang this Sunday at Darlington. It's been a few weeks since Love's (Travel Stops) has been on the car and I'm excited to get back in our familiar colors. I know that I speak for everyone at Front Row Motorsports when I say that we're so thankful to Love's for their partnership. Their years of continued support plays a large role in our success today.

“Something else that I’m really excited about is that Love’s has decided to take this month's National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, which runs the week of September 13th, and celebrate it throughout the entire month. If you’re a professional truck driver, visit www.loves.com and learn more about the various programs that Love’s is offering.

“One of their initiatives includes a 4-million-point giveaway; the largest that Love’s has ever done. Each week, a new driver will win 1 million My Love Rewards points, which is equal to $10,000.

“I applaud Love’s for their dedication to the professional truck driving community and I think that this platform is a great way to show the much-needed appreciation for all of the hard work that these men and women have been doing to keep America moving; especially during the challenging year that 2020 has been with the on-going pandemic. It motivates me that much more to go out on Sunday and deliver a strong finish for Love’s Travel Stops and all of their professional truck driving customers.”

About Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores

Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores is the nation's industry-leading travel stop network with 530 locations in 41 states. Founded in 1964 and headquartered in Oklahoma City, the company remains family-owned and operated and employs more than 27,000 people. Love's provides professional truck drivers and motorists with 24-hour access to clean and safe places to purchase gasoline, diesel fuel, fresh coffee, restaurant offerings and more. Love's has more than 390 truck service centers, which include on-site and stand-alone Speedco and Love's Truck Tire Care locations. Love's and Speedco combined is the largest oil change, preventive maintenance and total truck care nationwide network. Love's is committed to providing customers with "Clean Places, Friendly Faces" at every stop. To learn more, visit loves.com.