Blog Posts - Official Site of Front Row Motorsports

Love's Travel Stops and Prime Inc. Rejoin McDowell at Kansas

10/12/2020

McDowell on Kansas:

"It's a big race weekend for us as we head back to Kansas for the second time this season. Our mile and a half program has been so good this year and we had a really strong run going the last time we were there, so hopefully we can do more of the same on Sunday.

"We have Love's Travel Stops back on board our No. 34 Ford Mustang this weekend and they're going to be joined by one of their valuable fleet partners, Prime Inc., for the second year in a row. I was able to spend time with some of the drivers from Prime Inc. last year and I'm really excited to have them back on our car. I appreciate all they are doing to keep America moving, and thank Love’s for continuing to provide them with exceptional highway hospitality.

"We'll have some cooler weather when we head back to Kansas, which means it's going to be a fast track and I'm looking forward to a great race. Hopefully we can get some of the momentum back that we had earlier this year and bring home a strong finish for Love's Travel Stops and Prime Inc."

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 Prime Inc.

Prime Inc. is North America's most successful refrigerated, flatbed, tanker, logistics and intermodal transportation company. Company driver and independent contractor opportunities available in all divisions. New drivers can earn their Class A CDL through the Prime Student Driver Program with new classes starting weekly. At Prime, we have built a strong and enviable reputation for providing superior transportation services throughout North America. Our commitment to providing unsurpassed world-class customer service continues as we seek new methods, technical advances and systems which enable us to meet the ever-increasing demands of the shipping industry.

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Michael McDowell Post-Race Report: Charlotte ROVAL

10/11/2020

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

Started: 31st
Finished: 32nd

Stage One: 19th
Stage Two: 9th
Stage Three: 32nd

The No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Speedco Ford Mustang started Sunday's Bank of America ROVAL 400 from the 31st position at Charlotte Motor Speedway. On the first lap of the race, McDowell made a strong charge towards the front as he gained many valuable spots and improved his running position to 18th. At the Competition Caution on Lap 10, Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer made the call for McDowell to stay on track to continue advancing his position. Then, with 7 Laps remaining in the first stage, McDowell would pit under green to trade his 4 rain tires for 4 slick tires and fuel and would go on to finish Stage 1 from the 19th position. McDowell would stay out during the Stage Break Caution and restart in 13th to begin Stage 2.

During the second stage, McDowell began to note that his No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Speedco Ford Mustang was "really tight." The caution flag would fly on Lap 45 to which McDowell would once again stay on track to gain track position. He would battle hard to secure a Top-10 stage finish and stage points as his No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Speedco Ford Mustang took the Stage 2 green-and white-checkered flag from the 9th position. Under caution, McDowell told his team that he needed "more turn" and would pit for 4 tires, fuel and a trackbar adjustment.

The final stage of Sunday's 109-lap race would see a total of 3 cautions. The first would occur with less than 50 Laps to go, to which McDowell would stay out. Shortly after green flag racing resumed, McDowell noted that his No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Speedco Ford Mustang was bottoming out on the right rear and would pit under caution on Lap 88 for 4 tires, fuel and an added spring rubber. The yellow flag would come out on Lap 99 for the 9th and final time of the race as McDowell would once again stay on track. With only a handful of laps remaining, the No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Speedco Ford Mustang would spin twice as McDowell came over the radio to say, "something is broken" and would take the checkered flag in the 32nd position.

McDowell on the ROVAL:

“Well, not the day that we had hoped for with Love's Travel Stops and Speedco. We had a decent car at times, but then we had something break towards the end of the race and we tried to fix it, but just couldn't. It's unfortunate for us because we had two good races: Talladega and then the ROVAL, where we could have scored a lot of points and didn't. To Love's Travel Stops and all of our other partners, I'm sorry that we didn't get you guys a good finish today; but we'll try to stay positive, keep plugging away, get it figured out and get ready for Kansas."

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McDowell Looks to Finish Road Course Season in ROVAL Victory Lane with Love's Travel Stops

10/6/2020

McDowell on Charlotte ROVAL:

“This is a big weekend for us. We're headed to the Charlotte ROVAL on Sunday for one of my favorite races of the year; a tight and twisty road course. We had such a great run there last season with Love's Travel Stops and I'm excited to welcome them back on board with Speedco for what should be another exciting race weekend. It's a hometown race for us and a road course; so for me personally, it doesn't get much better than that. We had a strong run back in August on the Daytona Road Course, so hopefully we can finish our final road race of the season in Victory Lane at the Charlotte ROVAL.”

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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Punctured Radiator Ends McDowell's Race Early at Talladega

10/4/2020

Michael McDowell
No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Luber-finer Ford Mustang

Started: 24th
Finished: 36th

Stage One: 25th
Stage Two: 36th
Stage Three: 36th

Michael McDowell and his No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Luber-finer Ford Mustang took the green flag from the 24th position on Sunday afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway. The first 13 Laps would see a total of 3 yellow flags before the Competition Caution on Lap 25. Under caution, McDowell noted that his No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Luber-finer Ford Mustang was riding “a little rough,” prompting Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer to make the call for 4 tires, fuel and a packer adjustment. Once racing resumed, the remainder of the first stage would stay green and McDowell would go on to take the Stage 1 green-and white-checkered flag from the 25th position. During the Stage Break Caution, Blickensderfer would call the No. 34 to pit road for 4 tires and fuel after McDowell radioed to say that his No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Luber-finer Ford Mustang had “a little bit of splitter contact,” but was drivable.

Shortly after the Stage 2 restart, the yellow flag would be displayed and Blickensderfer would make the call for McDowell to “stay out” under the caution. Once racing resumed, the No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | Luber-finer Ford Mustang would mount a strong run as McDowell surged to the front to content for the lead; unfortunately, the charge would be short lived as a few laps later, McDowell came over the radio to say, “I’m losing water pressure … my pressure is at zero.” McDowell would bring his race car to pit road for the team to inspect, to which it was discovered that a trackbar extension from another race car had gone through the grille and punctured the radiator, ending McDowell’s race early as the No. 34 Love's Travel Stops | Luber-finer Ford Mustang would retire to a 35th place finish.

McDowell on Talladega:

“Man, what a shame. We had such fast Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang; it was really, really fast. Unfortunately, we had a trackbar extension from another race car come through the grille and knocked all of the water out of the radiator. I’m thankful to everybody at Love’s Travel Stops and Luber-finer for their continued support. We had a really fast race car and it’s just really unfortunate that we weren’t able to make it to the end. It just wasn’t our day."

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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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